Live Oak Investment Partners Sells 6,328 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Live Oak Investment Partners lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,621 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,328 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.1% of Live Oak Investment Partners’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Live Oak Investment Partners’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $110.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $101.65 and a 200-day moving average of $89.82. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $112.90. The company has a market cap of $275.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.