Palumbo Wealth Management LLC Buys 274 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,246 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. McAdam LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 20,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577 shares during the period. Cora Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the second quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% in the second quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 54.0% during the second quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 3,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verum Partners LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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, Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $79.62 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $116.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.