Asset Dedication LLC lowered its position in Merck & Company, Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,313 shares of the company’s stock after selling 58 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Merck & were worth $1,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intellectus Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & during the fourth quarter worth $103,000. Vigilant Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & by 16.7% in the first quarter. Vigilant Capital Management LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & by 15.5% in the second quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & during the first quarter worth $127,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & by 41.3% in the first quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 2,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.68% of the company’s stock.
Merck & Company, Inc. (NYSE:MRK) traded down 0.75% during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $63.44. The company had a trading volume of 6,924,338 shares. The company’s 50-day moving average is $63.65 and its 200-day moving average is $63.78. Merck & Company, Inc. has a one year low of $57.18 and a one year high of $66.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.52 billion, a PE ratio of 34.35 and a beta of 0.80.
Merck & (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $9.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.75 billion. Merck & had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 25.75%. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Company, Inc. will post $3.85 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Merck &’s dividend payout ratio is 76.11%.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION NOTICE: “Asset Dedication LLC Has $1.16 Million Position in Merck & Company, Inc. (NYSE:MRK)” was first posted by StockNewsTimes and is the sole property of of StockNewsTimes. If you are reading this report on another website, it was illegally stolen and reposted in violation of US & international copyright and trademark laws. The legal version of this report can be viewed at https://stocknewstimes.com/2017/08/02/merck-company-inc-nysemrk-shares-sold-by-asset-dedication-llc-updated.html.
Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Zacks Investment Research raised Merck & from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. J P Morgan Chase & Co increased their target price on Merck & from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Merck & from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Vetr raised Merck & from a “sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $71.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Finally, BidaskClub lowered Merck & from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Merck & has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.80.
In other news, Director C Robert Kidder sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.54, for a total transaction of $317,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $909,702.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Merck & Company Profile
Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company. The Company offers health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. It operates through four segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, Healthcare Services and Alliances. The Company’s Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products marketed either directly by the Company or through joint ventures.
Receive News & Ratings for Merck & Company Inc. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Merck & Company Inc. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
