Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Beacon Financial Advisory LLC

Beacon Financial Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 204.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,479 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,754 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,145,000 after buying an additional 5,094,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,263,991,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636,183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $108.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $270.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.09. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $112.90.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.