FY2025 Earnings Estimate for MRK Issued By Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald has increased its FY2025 earnings estimate for Merck & Co., Inc. to $8.94 per share, slightly up from a previous forecast of $8.92.
• Merck's recent earnings report showed a net margin of 25.79% and an EPS of $2.13, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.03.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with a current annualized yield of 3.7% and a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald increased their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report released on Thursday, October 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C. Gould now expects that the company will earn $8.94 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $8.92. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.'s current full-year earnings is $9.01 per share.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on MRK. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.1%

MRK stock opened at $87.38 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $111.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $218.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $83.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.53.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,858,570,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after buying an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $991,553,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

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.

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