Zullo Investment Group Inc. Sells 221 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Zullo Investment Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,130 shares of the company’s stock after selling 221 shares during the quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $86.02 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $111.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $214.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.47 and a 200-day moving average of $81.51.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.31.

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.