Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. updated its FY 2025 guidance to 8.820-8.970 EPS.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock traded up $0.46 during trading on Monday, reaching $83.20. The stock had a trading volume of 14,235,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,917,617. The firm has a market cap of $209.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $87.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.03. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.93 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 29.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,278 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.