Nordea Investment Management AB Buys 209,759 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,945,187 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 209,759 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.8% of Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $876,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. New Republic Capital LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 6,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 59,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,025,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $10,040,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.7% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 227,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,059,000 after acquiring an additional 12,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.3% during the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 77,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,490,000 after purchasing an additional 13,593 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $109.15 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.32. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $112.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.87.

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

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.