Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. Has $11.61 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,641 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,830 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.3% of Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Kepos Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Front Row Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.0% during the first quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Kalos Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.1% during the fourth quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 718 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 74.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. HSBC started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, July 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $123.00 target price for the company. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “a-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, September 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.01, for a total transaction of $463,292.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,500,144.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $107.82 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $273.60 billion, a PE ratio of 88.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.28. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $84.52 and a fifty-two week high of $119.65.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.18) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $15.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.44 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 5.34% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 239.34%.

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.