Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Boosts Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 231,527 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,529 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.2% of Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $26,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,865,948 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after buying an additional 5,627,923 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $724,776,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 85,595,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,331,676,000 after purchasing an additional 3,153,333 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,346 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $108.58 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $275.01 billion, a PE ratio of 120.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $115.37 and its 200-day moving average is $123.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

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.