Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. Has $16.10 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 161,843 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,266 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.4% of Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $87.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $222.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.31 and a 200-day moving average of $107.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $87.33 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.