Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Buys 2,544 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 122,407 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,544 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.3% of Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the third quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Societe Generale lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 price objective (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.30 on Wednesday, hitting $125.36. The company had a trading volume of 6,122,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,346,982. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $133.10. The stock has a market cap of $317.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 893.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $126.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,200.00%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.