Swedbank AB Sells 113,211 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Swedbank AB cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,874,766 shares of the company’s stock after selling 113,211 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 0.7% of Swedbank AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Swedbank AB owned 0.31% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $623,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.0%

MRK opened at $81.11 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.65. The company has a market cap of $202.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $119.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.