Q4 EPS Estimate for Merck & Co., Inc. Reduced by Analyst

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Zacks Research decreased their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, November 21st. Zacks Research analyst S. Ganoria now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $1.82 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.93. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $7.73 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.’s Q1 2025 earnings at $2.22 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.42 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.43 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.09 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.16 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.34 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.62 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $2.65 EPS.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis.

MRK has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $101.19 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.54. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $255.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.57%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.