Obermeyer Wealth Partners Has $14.48 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Obermeyer Wealth Partners lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 161,286 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,095 shares during the period. Obermeyer Wealth Partners' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $14,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock worth $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,072,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,859 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 21,547,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,143,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791,737 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $79.35 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $199.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $128.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.37 and a 200 day moving average of $85.70.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.

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