Swedbank AB Lowers Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Swedbank AB cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,091,711 shares of the company’s stock after selling 559,960 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.9% of Swedbank AB’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Swedbank AB owned about 0.29% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $853,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised 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 worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 3,941 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% in 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 grew 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 during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,918,000 after acquiring an additional 359,356 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock traded up $2.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $129.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,944,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,082,327. The company has a market cap of $318.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.66 and a twelve month high of $130.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. One investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.83.

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.