Zacks Research Has Negative Forecast for MRK FY2026 Earnings

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Analysts at Zacks Research decreased their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report issued on Tuesday, December 10th. Zacks Research analyst S. Ganoria now expects that the company will earn $9.87 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $9.88. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $7.73 per share.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on MRK. Citigroup cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $102.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $258.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 64.57%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.