Beacon Financial Advisory LLC Buys 13,754 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Beacon Financial Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 204.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,479 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,754 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $108.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $270.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $112.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $102.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.09.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.