GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. purchased 3,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc., valued at approximately $269,000, during the first quarter.
• Analysts have recently downgraded Merck's stock ratings, with Cantor Fitzgerald lowering to "cautious" and several firms reducing target prices.
• Merck's upcoming quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share represents a 3.8% dividend yield, with the ex-dividend date on September 15th.

GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE MRK traded down $0.84 during trading on Thursday, reaching $83.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,481,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,252,589. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $82.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $120.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

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.