Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Expected to Post FY2024 Earnings of $8.18 Per Share

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 9th, 2023

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) – Research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report issued on Thursday, October 5th. Zacks Research analyst S. Ganoria now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $8.18 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $8.17. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $3.04 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.’s Q3 2025 earnings at $2.33 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “a-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Friday, September 1st. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $102.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.74.

Read Our Latest Report on MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

MRK stock opened at $103.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $263.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.15, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.11 and a fifty-two week high of $119.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $107.09 and a 200-day moving average of $110.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.18) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $15.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.44 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 5.34%. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 239.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.01, for a total transaction of $463,292.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,500,144.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Level Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.5% in the 2nd quarter. Level Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Front Row Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. 74.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.