Beacon Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Beacon Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,511 shares of the company’s stock after selling 506 shares during the quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Cora Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Saiph Capital LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $78.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $114.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $82.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.