Beech Hill Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 48.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,151 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,335 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 2.0% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,327,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,363,385,000 after purchasing an additional 39,289,404 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,736,293,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 72.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,314,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,919,542,000 after buying an additional 11,051,945 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,671.4% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,099,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,400,000 after buying an additional 4,915,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 41,850,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,643,267,000 after buying an additional 4,000,816 shares in the last quarter. 76.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, March 13th. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. BTIG Research lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $105.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.75.
Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.8 %
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $14.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.81 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 22.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 57.03%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 134,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total transaction of $15,425,708.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Rita A. Karachun sold 15,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,788.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 45,710 shares in the company, valued at $5,372,296.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 134,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total value of $15,425,708.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 488,258 shares of company stock worth $56,481,018. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
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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