AMF Tjanstepension AB Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 114.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 802,384 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 427,831 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $91,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 157,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,181,000 after buying an additional 4,069 shares in the last quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 91,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,992,000 after acquiring an additional 4,909 shares during the period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 532,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,106,000 after acquiring an additional 30,527 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of MRK opened at $112.03 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $115.99 and a 200 day moving average of $123.84. The company has a market cap of $283.75 billion, a PE ratio of 124.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

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 under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.