Abacus Planning Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,335 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,310 shares during the quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.7%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $78.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $198.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $79.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.91. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

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.