Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Position Reduced by Calamos Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Calamos Wealth Management LLC has reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.1% in the second quarter, selling 3,630 shares and retaining a total of 14,410 shares valued at approximately $1.14 million.
• Merck recently reported a Q2 EPS of $2.13, exceeding analyst expectations, although its revenue fell slightly short of forecasts at $15.81 billion.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.8% and a payout ratio of nearly 50%.

Calamos Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 20.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,410 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,630 shares during the quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.0% in the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,071 shares of the company's stock worth $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% in the second quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,851 shares of the company's stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% in the second quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 29,559 shares of the company's stock worth $2,482,000 after purchasing an additional 6,263 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% in the second quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,898 shares of the company's stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% in the second quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the company's stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:MRK opened at $84.78 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $83.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.31. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $109.92. The company has a market capitalization of $211.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.33.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.

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