Beacon Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,017 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 3.2%

NYSE:MRK opened at $78.36 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $196.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.