Beacon Financial Group Has $597,000 Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Beacon Financial Group lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 34.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,652 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,440 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $597,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $77.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $194.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $79.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.08.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.

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