Alteri Wealth LLC Sells 540 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Alteri Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,855 shares of the company’s stock after selling 540 shares during the quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $84.82 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $212.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business’s 50-day moving average is $80.03 and its 200-day moving average is $85.10. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $128.73.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.69.

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.