Q3 2024 Earnings Forecast for Merck & Co., Inc. Issued By Leerink Partnrs (NYSE:MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Research analysts at Leerink Partnrs raised their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. in a report released on Friday, April 19th. Leerink Partnrs analyst D. Graybosch now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $2.38 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.32. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $8.59 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.’s Q4 2024 earnings at $2.37 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $8.70 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.37 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.38 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.49 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.37 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.62 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $9.92 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $10.65 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $11.65 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price target (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $125.78 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $318.60 billion, a PE ratio of 898.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $133.10. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $126.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,200.00%.

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.