FY2029 Earnings Forecast for MRK Issued By Leerink Partnrs

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) - Analysts at Leerink Partnrs issued their FY2029 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. in a report issued on Friday, January 24th. Leerink Partnrs analyst D. Graybosch anticipates that the company will post earnings of $11.66 per share for the year. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.'s current full-year earnings is $7.67 per share.

Several other research firms have also commented on MRK. UBS Group lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $2.48 during trading on Monday, hitting $98.03. 10,431,408 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,615,382. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The business's fifty day moving average is $99.80 and its 200-day moving average is $108.56. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. 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. (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 the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,505 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company's stock worth $189,262,000 after acquiring an additional 35,525 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company's stock worth $7,211,000 after acquiring an additional 8,985 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company's stock worth $2,135,785,000 after acquiring an additional 514,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company's stock worth $208,649,000 after acquiring an additional 62,047 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.