KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires 80,900 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,228,070 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 80,900 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.5% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $111,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $2.18 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $81.49. 3,270,427 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,456,887. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $128.73. The firm has a market cap of $204.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $79.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.70.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

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

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.