Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,339,378 shares of the company’s stock after selling 669,416 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.3% of Nordea Investment Management AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $951,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 163.1% during the first quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 292 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,718,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Kepos Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Front Row Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.0% during the first quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Kalos Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth approximately $64,000. 74.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. HSBC assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, July 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $123.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.74.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.49, for a total transaction of $474,705.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,867,745.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MRK opened at $107.47 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $84.52 and a 52-week high of $119.65. The business’s fifty day moving average is $107.90 and its 200-day moving average is $110.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $272.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.09, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.18) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 5.34%. The company had revenue of $15.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 239.34%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.