The Dividend Daily

On Wednesday, pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) announced that it is reassessing its first quarter earnings per share estimates, accounting for the Venezuelan government’s planned devaluation of its currency.

The New Jersey-based company said it now sees first quarter EPS coming in a range between 76 cents and 78 cents. Wall Street analysts expect MRK to post an EPS of 86 cents.

Merck will take a one-time, after tax loss of about 5 cents per share in the first quarter because of the impact devaluation will have on the local balance sheet. Moreover, the company expects the devaluation impact to be 2 cents per share spread over the full year of 2013.

Merck shares were down slightly during morning trading on Wednesday. The stock is up about +8.5% over the past year.

The Bottom Line
Shares of Merck (MRK) have a dividend yield of 4.15% based on Wednesday’s intraday trading price of $41.47 and the company’s annualized dividend payout of $1.72 per share.

Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

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