Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Tuesday

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) is anticipated to announce its earnings results before the market opens on Tuesday, February 4th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.85 per share and revenue of $15.51 billion for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2024 guidance at 7.720-7.770 EPS and its FY24 guidance at $7.72-7.77 EPS.Parties interested in registering for the company's conference call can do so using this link.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Merck & Co., Inc. to post $8 EPS for the current fiscal year and $9 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $97.49. 12,839,714 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,055,025. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $246.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $122.67.

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.