Palumbo Wealth Management LLC Acquires 300 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Palumbo Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,972 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $79.24 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.32. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $198.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.