Dominguez Wealth Management Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,469 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 2.5% of Dominguez Wealth Management Solutions Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Dominguez Wealth Management Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the first quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 25,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,746,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.2% in the first quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.3% in the first quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 1,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 908,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,698,000 after purchasing an additional 4,306 shares during the period. Finally, DMC Group LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the first quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 14,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,619,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707 shares during the period. 76.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, March 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $128.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, May 1st. Citigroup upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, April 13th. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, April 10th. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Sunday, April 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.83.
Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.5 %
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $14.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.81 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 22.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.03%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.
In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 53,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total transaction of $6,355,134.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,770,831.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 134,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total transaction of $15,425,708.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 53,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total value of $6,355,134.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,770,831.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 488,258 shares of company stock worth $56,481,018 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.
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