Leerink Partnrs Issues Optimistic Forecast for MRK Earnings

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Investment analysts at Leerink Partnrs raised their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. in a report released on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partnrs analyst D. Graybosch now expects that the company will earn $2.19 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.91. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $7.62 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.’s Q2 2025 earnings at $2.14 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.44 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.29 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.07 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.24 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.41 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.39 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $10.23 EPS, FY2028 earnings at $10.14 EPS and FY2029 earnings at $10.39 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on MRK. Bank of America reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $87.97 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.33 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Destination Wealth Management increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 211,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,081,000 after acquiring an additional 2,504 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.0% during the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 114,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,458,000 after purchasing an additional 46,253 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,005.1% in the fourth quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 51,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,168,000 after purchasing an additional 47,250 shares in the last quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 30,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,066,000 after buying an additional 1,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chatham Capital Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 32,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,240,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.