Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Cuts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning trimmed its Merck stake by 7.3% in the first quarter, selling 63,102 shares and leaving it with 804,827 shares valued at about $96.8 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 76.07% of Merck’s stock, while several other firms recently increased their positions.
• Analysts are mixed but generally constructive: Merck carries an average “Moderate Buy” rating with a consensus price target of $128.72, while the stock was trading near $129.09 after the company recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates.

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 804,827 shares of the company's stock after selling 63,102 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $96,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company's stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company's stock worth $2,590,000 after buying an additional 15,636 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company's stock worth $3,054,000 after buying an additional 6,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company's stock worth $53,918,000 after buying an additional 359,356 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $128.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $129.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $318.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.36, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.66 and a 1-year high of $129.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $116.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.77%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.

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