Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Updates FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) updated its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 8.880-9.030 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 9.230. The company issued revenue guidance of $64.1 billion-$65.6 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $67.4 billion.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded down $10.50 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $89.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 21,449,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,301,978. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.33 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $225.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $99.83 and a 200-day moving average of $107.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. 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 3.63%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group dropped 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. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.