Obermeyer Wealth Partners Has $16.45 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Obermeyer Wealth Partners lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 165,381 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,386 shares during the quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 5.7%

MRK opened at $80.28 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.82 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $85.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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