Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC Buys 9,828 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 38,492 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,828 shares during the period. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 4,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,603,000. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% during the second quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 35,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,804,000 after buying an additional 2,532 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $109.58 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $102.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $112.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.