Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,097 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,990 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.0% of Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $19,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% in the third quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 2,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $531,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 7,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028 shares during the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 16,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,834,000 after acquiring an additional 3,662 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 33,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,755,000 after acquiring an additional 3,788 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $109.71 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $277.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.06) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on MRK shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.