Handelsbanken Fonder AB Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 43.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,765,174 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,332,476 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.7% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.07% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $158,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gibson Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Gibson Capital LLC now owns 3,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the first quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,591,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% during the first quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 19,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $239,000. Finally, Sonora Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the first quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 175,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

MRK stock opened at $79.30 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The business’s 50-day moving average is $78.98 and its 200 day moving average is $89.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $199.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th 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 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

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.