Leerink Partnrs Issues Pessimistic Estimate for MRK Earnings

Key Points

• Leerink Partners has lowered its Q3 2025 earnings per share estimate for Merck & Co., Inc. to $2.36 from $2.38, affecting the company's outlook amid changing analyst ratings.
• Despite recent earnings beating expectations, Merck's stock received mixed ratings from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target averaging $107.44.
• Merck has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, expected to be paid on October 7th, reflecting a 3.96% dividend yield.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Leerink Partnrs decreased their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. in a report released on Wednesday, July 30th. Leerink Partnrs analyst D. Graybosch now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $2.36 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.38. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.'s current full-year earnings is $9.01 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.'s FY2025 earnings at $8.96 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.07 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.23 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.30 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $8.70 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $9.26 EPS, FY2028 earnings at $8.98 EPS and FY2029 earnings at $9.31 EPS.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.63% and a net margin of 25.79%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded up $1.15 on Thursday, reaching $79.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,898,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,513,969. 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. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $120.30. The company has a market capitalization of $199.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $80.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.66.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company's stock worth $22,665,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,274 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company's stock worth $7,330,668,000 after purchasing an additional 927,621 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock worth $4,418,820,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 21,547,758 shares of the company's stock worth $2,143,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791,737 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

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.