Foundation Resource Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Foundation Resource Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 46.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 186,197 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,369 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 2.6% of Foundation Resource Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Foundation Resource Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $78.95 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $79.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the 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 approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.