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

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,820 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.8% of Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s holdings, 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.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 28,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,233 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 37,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,243,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 168,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,097,000 after buying an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. StoneX Group Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 39,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,483,000 after buying an additional 1,515 shares during the period. Finally, Lane & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.0% during the third quarter. Lane & Associates LLC now owns 4,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 1,689 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7 %

MRK opened at $99.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $250.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50 day moving average is $107.11 and its 200-day moving average is $117.83. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. 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.