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

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 43.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,765,174 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,332,476 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 0.7% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $158,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% during the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $79.30 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.69. The company has a market cap of $199.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, TD Securities lowered 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 report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.