Zacks Research Has Negative Forecast for MRK Q4 Earnings

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q4 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note issued on Tuesday, April 1st. Zacks Research analyst S. Ganoria now expects that the company will post earnings of $2.34 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.35. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $9.01 per share.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 5.7 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $81.48 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $90.90 and a 200 day moving average of $99.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.3% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 511 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,670,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966 shares in the last quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd now owns 28,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,219,000 after purchasing an additional 7,266 shares during the period. Finally, Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 29,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,381,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.