Panoramic Investment Advisors LLC Sells 184 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Panoramic Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,046 shares of the company’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. Panoramic Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $127.72 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $323.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.91, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $129.34 and a 200 day moving average of $124.55. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.00.

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 under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.