Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Acquires 1,254 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,820 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.8% of Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $99.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $250.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $107.11 and a 200-day moving average of $117.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Guggenheim cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America lowered 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. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.