Andra AP fonden Has $43.84 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Andra AP fonden trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 364,485 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63,615 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.5% of Andra AP fonden’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $43,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,731,000 after purchasing an additional 24,576 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,296,000 after purchasing an additional 32,114 shares during the last quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,543,000 after purchasing an additional 28,635 shares during the period. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 95.2% during the 4th quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP now owns 23,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,450,000 after purchasing an additional 11,355 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,301,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,022,000 after buying an additional 320,143 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. 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 restated an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, CICC Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $124.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $307.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.66 and a 52-week high of $131.74. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $120.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.