Livingston Group Asset Management CO operating as Southport Capital Management decreased its position in Merck & Company, Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,480 shares of the company’s stock after selling 685 shares during the period. Livingston Group Asset Management CO operating as Southport Capital Management’s holdings in Merck & were worth $223,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 12,753,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $750,807,000 after buying an additional 506,952 shares during the period. RB Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & during the fourth quarter worth $263,000. AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & during the fourth quarter worth $1,741,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in Merck & by 2.7% in the first quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 21,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,364,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Edge Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & during the fourth quarter worth approximately $744,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.73% of the company’s stock.
Shares of Merck & Company, Inc. (NYSE:MRK) opened at 63.10 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.16 and a beta of 0.80. Merck & Company, Inc. has a one year low of $57.18 and a one year high of $66.80.
Merck & (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.14. Merck & had a return on equity of 25.75% and a net margin of 17.14%. The company had revenue of $9.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Company, Inc. will post $3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The firm 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 $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Merck &’s payout ratio is 76.11%.
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MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. J P Morgan Chase & Co increased their price target on Merck & from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Zacks Investment Research cut Merck & from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Credit Suisse Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Merck & in a research note on Tuesday, June 13th. Vetr upgraded Merck & from a “sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $71.50 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Finally, Cowen and Company reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Merck & in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Merck & currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.80.
In other Merck & news, Director C Robert Kidder sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.54, for a total transaction of $317,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $909,702.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.
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.
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