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

Zullo Investment Group Inc. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,130 shares of the company’s stock after selling 221 shares during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first 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 bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 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. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $86.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $214.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $111.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.51. 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 quarterly earnings data 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

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.