Handelsbanken Fonder AB Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,097,650 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,392 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.2% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $308,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. LMG Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,297,000 after buying an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $502,000. Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 195,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,404,000 after acquiring an additional 53,967 shares during the period. Private Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 329,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,746,000 after acquiring an additional 38,652 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Financial Planning Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 3,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $85.55 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $95.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.49. The firm has a market cap of $216.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

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.