Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,434,417 shares of the company’s stock after selling 58,394 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.9% of Swedbank AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Swedbank AB owned about 0.21% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $672,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $113.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,101,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,717,050. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $124.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.07. The company has a market capitalization of $287.85 billion, a PE ratio of 126.30, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.67% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.58.

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.