Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Sells 132,300 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 79.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,797 shares of the company’s stock after selling 132,300 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 73,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,380,000 after purchasing an additional 8,237 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $108,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 5,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $87.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.33 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.33.

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.