Zacks Research Expects Weaker Earnings for Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 26th. Zacks Research analyst S. Ganoria now anticipates that the company will earn $2.17 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.22. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $9.01 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.’s Q3 2025 earnings at $2.42 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.95 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.31 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $9.59 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $10.30 EPS.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Leerink Partners cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.3 %

MRK stock opened at $90.58 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $229.13 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $94.75 and its 200 day moving average is $103.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,505 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,262,000 after purchasing an additional 35,525 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,080,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,649,000 after purchasing an additional 62,047 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.