Abner Herrman & Brock LLC Trims Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Abner Herrman & Brock LLC lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 138,549 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,988 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 2.3% of Abner Herrman & Brock LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $129.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $128.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.07. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $133.10. The company has a market cap of $328.48 billion, a PE ratio of 144.10, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.