Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC Has $23.47 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 235,878 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,645 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $23,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.7 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $82.83 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.93 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company's 50-day moving average price is $87.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.03. The stock has a market cap of $208.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 47.16%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.

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