Independent Advisor Alliance Decreases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Independent Advisor Alliance cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,051 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,825 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $99.18 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $250.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $107.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.57%.

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.