Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Issues FY24 Earnings Guidance

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $7.94-$8.04 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.16. The company issued revenue guidance of $63.4-$64.4 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $64.29 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 7.940-8.040 EPS.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $115.95 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $293.68 billion, a PE 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.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target 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.