Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Unloaded Rep. Robert Bresnahan, Jr.

Representative Robert Bresnahan, Jr. (R-Pennsylvania) recently sold shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK). In a filing disclosed on March 27th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $15,001 and $50,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. stock on February 25th.

Representative Robert Bresnahan, Jr. also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) on 3/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) on 3/6/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of SEA (NYSE:SE) on 3/5/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Credo Technology Group (NASDAQ:CRDO) on 3/4/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) on 3/4/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) on 3/4/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) on 3/4/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM) on 3/4/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) on 3/3/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW) on 3/3/2025.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $1.58 on Friday, hitting $89.18. 12,390,495 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,054,969. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $91.92 and a 200-day moving average of $100.21. The stock has a market cap of $225.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $34,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

About Representative Bresnahan

Rob Bresnahan Jr. (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2025. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Bresnahan (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Rob Bresnahan Jr. was born in Kingston, Pennsylvania. He earned a B.S. in business administration, management and operations from the University of Scranton in 2012. His career experience includes working as the chief financial officer and CEO of a family business, an electrical contracting company.

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.