Swedbank AB Purchases 327,325 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,987,977 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 327,325 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.0% of Swedbank AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $717,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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 Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $85.11 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year 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. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.