What is Erste Group Bank’s Estimate for MRK FY2026 Earnings?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Investment analysts at Erste Group Bank decreased their FY2026 earnings estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 18th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $5.13 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $5.14. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $9.01 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.’s FY2027 earnings at $9.76 EPS.

MRK has been the topic of several other reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $122.05 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $123.33. The company has a market cap of $302.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $110.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.The business had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Chesapeake Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. South Plains Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 15,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total value of $2,437,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 80,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,825,356.20. This represents a 19.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.70%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.