Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 79,200 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• The Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.1%, selling 79,200 shares and now holding 792,829 shares, which represent 0.9% of its investment portfolio.
• Merck recently reported earnings of $2.13 EPS, exceeding analysts’ estimates, but had a revenue of $15.81 billion, slightly below expectations of $15.92 billion.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.9% based on an annualized payout of $3.24.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 792,829 shares of the company's stock after selling 79,200 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 0.9% of Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $71,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $718,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 64.4% in the first quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 186,529 shares of the company's stock worth $16,743,000 after buying an additional 73,045 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.1% in the first quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 35,768 shares of the company's stock worth $3,211,000 after buying an additional 4,969 shares during the last quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 59.2% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NFP Retirement Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.5% in the first quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 6,879 shares of the company's stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $82.67 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $120.30. The company's fifty day moving average price is $80.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $206.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. 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 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

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.

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