Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds Voor DE Media PNO raised its stake in shares of Merck & Company, Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 353,191 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,591 shares during the period. Merck & accounts for about 2.7% of Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds Voor DE Media PNO’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds Voor DE Media PNO’s holdings in Merck & were worth $22,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & by 5.9% in the second quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 32,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,095,000 after buying an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & by 6.6% in the second quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 91,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,848,000 after buying an additional 5,637 shares in the last quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & by 4.0% in the second quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,745,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in Merck & by 2.7% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 35,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,299,000 after buying an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Brown Inc. increased its stake in Merck & by 10.6% in the second quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 9,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. 73.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Shares of Merck & Company, Inc. (NYSE:MRK) traded down 0.14% on Monday, hitting $63.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,702,658 shares. Merck & Company, Inc. has a one year low of $57.18 and a one year high of $66.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.78. The company has a market capitalization of $172.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.11 and a beta of 0.80.
Merck & (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $9.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.75 billion. Merck & had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 25.75%. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Company, Inc. will post $3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Merck &’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.11%.
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A number of analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Merck & in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Citigroup Inc. set a $65.00 price objective on Merck & and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 5th. Zacks Investment Research raised Merck & from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 26th. BidaskClub downgraded Merck & from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Piper Jaffray Companies set a $70.00 price objective on Merck & and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Merck & currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.80.
In other Merck & news, Director C Robert Kidder sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.54, for a total value of $317,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $909,702.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
About Merck &
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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