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

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) issued an update on its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 8.880-9.030 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS 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. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $10.80 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $88.99. The stock had a trading volume of 23,655,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,492,197. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.33 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $99.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

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.