Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. Purchases 3,830 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,641 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,830 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.3% of Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,327,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,363,385,000 after purchasing an additional 39,289,404 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $2,736,293,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 72.4% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 11,051,945 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 35,734,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,801,839,000 after purchasing an additional 8,281,942 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 68,563,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,294,504,000 after purchasing an additional 6,546,946 shares during the period. 74.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.49, for a total value of $474,705.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,867,745.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $107.82 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $84.52 and a 1-year high of $119.65. The company has a market cap 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 current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $107.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.18) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 5.34% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The company had revenue of $15.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.03 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 Friday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 239.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $102.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “a-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, September 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.74.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.