Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC Buys 539 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,319 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 108.1% during the 3rd quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Societe Generale lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $130.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,143,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,627,692. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $329.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 935.21, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,200.00%.

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.