Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0%, owning 395,415 shares after selling 29,603 shares in the first quarter.
• Despite some hedge funds reducing stakes, 76.07% of Merck's stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Merck reported earnings of $2.13 per share, exceeding expectations, but lowered its price target to $84.00 amid analyst downgrades.

Gotham Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 395,415 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,603 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.3% of Gotham Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $35,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $398,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 325,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,409,000 after purchasing an additional 28,047 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 10,427 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC now owns 14,961 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,488,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK traded up $0.62 on Tuesday, reaching $84.71. The stock had a trading volume of 7,951,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,166,161. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $119.38. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $82.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.93. The company has a market cap of $211.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

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.