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

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 7.940-8.040 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $113.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $288.28 billion, a PE ratio of 126.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $127.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.67% and a net margin of 21.99%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.06) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.