FY2025 Earnings Forecast for MRK Issued By Cantor Fitzgerald

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Cantor Fitzgerald issued their FY2025 earnings estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst L. Chen forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $9.55 for the year. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $7.70 per share.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $95.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $99.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.20. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $242.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after buying an additional 1,836,505 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,211,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,649,000 after purchasing an additional 62,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,102,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,204,000 after purchasing an additional 34,715 shares in the last 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.