Abound Wealth Management Cuts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Abound Wealth Management lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 955 shares of the company’s stock after selling 237 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $95,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $100.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $100.16 and a 200 day moving average of $110.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

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.