Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Holdings Lessened by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,429,584 shares of the company's stock after selling 116,994 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.4% of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned about 0.10% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $300,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the second quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,107 shares of the company's stock worth $2,127,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 407,338 shares of the company's stock worth $50,428,000 after buying an additional 19,072 shares in the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 51,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,351,000 after buying an additional 3,639 shares during the last quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. now owns 29,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,626,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 49.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 66,171 shares of the company's stock worth $8,192,000 after acquiring an additional 21,816 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $116.77. The stock had a trading volume of 4,874,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,655,095. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.76 billion, a PE ratio of 130.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $118.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.06) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.58.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.