Zacks Research Brokers Decrease Earnings Estimates for MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q4 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report issued on Tuesday, April 1st. Zacks Research analyst S. Ganoria now forecasts that the company will earn $2.34 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.35. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.'s current full-year earnings is $9.01 per share.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.12.

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Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 5.7 %

NYSE MRK traded down $4.91 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $81.48. The company had a trading volume of 22,959,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,187,328. The firm's 50 day moving average is $91.18 and its 200 day moving average is $99.44. The company has a market capitalization of $205.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 EPS.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. CGN Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. TI Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,973,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company's stock worth $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company's stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

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.