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

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRKGet Free Report) is projected to post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Tuesday, February 4th. Analysts expect Merck & Co., Inc. to post earnings of $1.85 per share and revenue of $15.51 billion for the quarter. Individual that are interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRKGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 MRK stock opened at $98.80 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $249.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MRK

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also

Earnings History for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

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