Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Updates FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) issued an update on its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 8.880-9.030 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 9.230. The company issued revenue guidance of $64.1 billion-$65.6 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $67.4 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. also updated its FY25 guidance to $8.88 to $9.03 EPS.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of MRK opened at $89.52 on Thursday. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $99.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.33 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. 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. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

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.