FY2026 Earnings Estimate for MRK Issued By Cantor Fitzgerald

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) - Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald issued their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a note issued to investors on Monday, June 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C. Gould anticipates that the company will earn $9.62 per share for the year. Cantor Fitzgerald has a "Cautious" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.'s current full-year earnings is $9.01 per share.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

MRK has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $80.60. The stock had a trading volume of 4,238,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,749,178. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.64. The company has a market cap of $202.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $4,002,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 74.7% in the first quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,736 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,028,000 after buying an additional 14,428 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 82.0% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 10,001 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 797,908 shares of the company's stock worth $71,291,000 after buying an additional 191,441 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

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.