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

Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 200,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,390,000. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 8.3% of Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 12,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,795 shares during the period. Jackson Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,756,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the period. Shakespeare Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $268,000. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,909,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,517,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,229,000 after purchasing an additional 10,763 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded down $1.87 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $125.85. 4,002,052 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,506,954. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $318.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 140.96, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $129.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.70.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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