Zacks Research Equities Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Research analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q2 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report issued on Tuesday, September 24th. Zacks Research analyst S. Ganoria now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $2.61 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.59. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $8.01 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.’s FY2026 earnings at $10.13 EPS.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $113.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $287.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 342.22%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.