Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) - Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald issued their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report released on Tuesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst L. Chen anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $9.55 for the year. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a "Overweight" rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.'s current full-year earnings is $7.70 per share.
A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.00.
View Our Latest Report on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance
Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $95.96. 6,955,949 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,983,745. The company has a market capitalization of $242.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $99.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.20.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.47 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 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Merck & Co., Inc., you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Merck & Co., Inc. wasn't on the list.
While Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Wondering what the next stocks will be that hit it big, with solid fundamentals? Click the link below to learn more about how your portfolio could bloom.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
