FY2025 Earnings Estimate for MRK Issued By Cantor Fitzgerald

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) - Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note issued on Wednesday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C. Gould now forecasts that the company will earn $8.66 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $8.88. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a "Cautious" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.'s current full-year earnings is $9.01 per share. Cantor Fitzgerald also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.'s FY2026 earnings at $9.55 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded up $0.35 on Thursday, hitting $84.06. The company had a trading volume of 14,718,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,408,952. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.71. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $129.93. The firm has a market cap of $211.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quilter Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,988,000 after buying an additional 62,933 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 30,335 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company's stock worth $5,118,000 after purchasing an additional 6,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 102,099 shares of the company's stock worth $10,229,000 after purchasing an additional 25,997 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.