Leerink Partnrs Equities Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Stock 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 forecasts that the company will earn $2.38 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate 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.

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

Several other research firms have also commented on MRK. Barclays upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Finally, TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $125.78 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $318.60 billion, a PE ratio of 898.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $126.18 and a 200-day moving average of $115.18. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $133.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, 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. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date 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.