Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Abacus FCF Advisors LLC

Abacus FCF Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 43.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,249 shares of the company’s stock after selling 53,554 shares during the period. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $79.30 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $199.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.69.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company insiders.

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.