ABC Arbitrage SA Makes New $1.60 Million Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• ABC Arbitrage SA has acquired **17,806 shares** of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), totaling approximately **$1,598,000** in value.
• Multiple large investors have significantly increased their stakes in Merck, with Pacer Advisors Inc. boosting its holdings by **2,240.9%** during the first quarter.
• Merck recently declared a **quarterly dividend** of **$0.81** per share, offering a **4.1% dividend yield** based on an annualized payout of **$3.24**.

ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,806 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,598,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $398,000. Titleist Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 3,154 shares of the company's stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trek Financial LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 106.0% during the 4th quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 16,328 shares of the company's stock worth $1,624,000 after acquiring an additional 8,401 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $0.85 on Thursday, hitting $80.29. The stock had a trading volume of 10,826,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,582,423. The company's 50-day moving average is $80.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.13. The stock has a market cap of $200.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $120.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

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.