Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 336 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,135 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.7% of Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $26,350,000. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 5,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 12,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 3,002 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $78.95 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $79.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $198.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.