4,678 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Acquired by American Alpha Advisors LLC

Key Points

• American Alpha Advisors LLC has acquired 4,678 shares of Merck & Co., Inc., valued at approximately $420,000, signaling increased interest from institutional investors.
• Merck & Co., Inc. has recently experienced multiple downgrades from research firms, with Citigroup lowering its price target from $115 to $84, indicating a cautious outlook.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with a 4.0% yield and a payout ratio of nearly 50%, contributing to its attractiveness for income-focused investors.

American Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $420,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the first quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the company's stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Tilson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the first quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the first quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,761 shares of the company's stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE MRK opened at $80.73 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $120.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $201.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38. The company's fifty day moving average price is $80.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.

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