Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 6,533 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. ET AL has reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.3%, now owning 72,630 shares valued at approximately $6.52 million.
• Merck & Co., Inc. reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.13 per share, beating the consensus estimate by $0.10, although revenue fell slightly short of expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.8%, with a payout ratio of around 49.92%.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,630 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,533 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 707,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,536,000 after purchasing an additional 25,772 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 38,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,447,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 53.6% in the 1st quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 897,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,593,000 after purchasing an additional 313,396 shares during the period. PKS Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.9% in the 1st quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,394 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 628,424 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,407,000 after purchasing an additional 86,268 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.1%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $84.13. The stock had a trading volume of 10,870,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,934,819. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $120.30. The company has a market capitalization of $210.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $82.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.