abrdn plc Sells 130,256 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

abrdn plc lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,608,784 shares of the company’s stock after selling 130,256 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.0% of abrdn plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. abrdn plc owned approximately 0.18% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $522,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hi Line Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Hi Line Capital Management LLC now owns 80,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.4% in the first quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the first quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 29,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. Talbot Financial LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 84,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,215,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the period. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 14,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,931,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $104.26 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $264.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $113.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.44. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.80 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($2.06) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.46.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.