Beacon Financial Group lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 30.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,347 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,288 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Kepos Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.60% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, March 13th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. Credit Suisse Group raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Citigroup raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.75.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.8 %
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 22.52% and a return on equity of 37.92%. The firm had revenue of $14.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 57.03%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.
In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 66,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $7,608,745.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 154,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,766,695. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 66,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $7,608,745.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 154,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,766,695. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 134,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total transaction of $15,425,708.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 488,258 shares of company stock worth $56,481,018. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Profile
Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.
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