Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ Buys Shares of 200,000 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 200,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,390,000. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 8.3% of Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.87 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $125.85. The stock had a trading volume of 4,002,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,506,954. The company has a 50-day moving average of $129.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $318.75 billion, a PE ratio of 140.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 342.22%.

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.