Golden State Wealth Management LLC Boosts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 145.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,073 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,113 shares during the quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $79.74 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $133.43. 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 firm has a market cap of $200.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $79.02 and a 200-day moving average of $88.05.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.