FY2027 EPS Estimate for Merck & Co., Inc. Reduced by Analyst

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Equities researchers at Erste Group Bank reduced their FY2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a note issued to investors on Thursday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the company will earn $9.52 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $9.54. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $2.76 per share.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 16.73%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on MRK. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $142.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.60.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2%

MRK opened at $148.00 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.58 and a 12 month high of $156.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $365.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $132.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 272.00%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 52,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total value of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. This represents a 62.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total transaction of $10,718,839.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,509 shares in the company, valued at $6,073,631.14. This represents a 63.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12,537.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 484,720,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,286,552,000 after purchasing an additional 480,884,635 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 226,999,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,169,479,000 after buying an additional 1,073,507 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,737,504,000 after buying an additional 1,859,990 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,307,572,000 after acquiring an additional 249,110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.