Q1 EPS Forecast for Merck & Co., Inc. Reduced by Analyst

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note issued on Wednesday, February 26th. Zacks Research analyst S. Ganoria now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $2.17 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.22. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $9.01 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.’s Q3 2025 earnings at $2.42 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.95 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.31 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $9.59 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $10.30 EPS.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $89.39 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $94.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.68. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.04 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $226.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,408,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.