DRW Securities LLC Sells 7,734 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

DRW Securities LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 74.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,643 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,734 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $300,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE MRK opened at $103.04 on Thursday. 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 has a market cap of $260.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $106.13 and a 200-day moving average of $117.24. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.57%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.