Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Expected to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) is expected to release its Q1 2025 earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, April 24th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $2.16 per share and revenue of $15.59 billion for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.820-8.970 EPS.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. On average, analysts expect Merck & Co., Inc. to post $9 EPS for the current fiscal year and $10 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $1.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $81.68. The stock had a trading volume of 14,146,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,841,858. The company has a market capitalization of $205.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.93 and a one 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $87.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 29.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,278 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,808,000 at the end of the most recent 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.