Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Holdings Lowered by abrdn plc

abrdn plc trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,249,325 shares of the company’s stock after selling 359,459 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.8% of abrdn plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. abrdn plc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $420,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $99.79 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $252.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.54. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.