Cantor Fitzgerald Predicts MRK FY2025 Earnings

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald issued their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report released on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C. Gould expects that the company will post earnings of $9.01 per share for the year. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a "Neutral" rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.'s current full-year earnings is $9.01 per share.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on MRK. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $78.73 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $87.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.61. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.93 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company's stock worth $2,408,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock worth $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.

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