Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Issues FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 7.940-8.040 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 8.160. The company issued revenue guidance of $63.4 billion-$64.4 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $64.3 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. also updated its FY24 guidance to $7.94-$8.04 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $113.82 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $127.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $288.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 41.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($2.06) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.