Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC

Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,897 shares of the company’s stock after selling 524 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.9% of Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 32,832 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $110.43 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $279.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 122.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.