Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Acquired Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) recently bought shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK). In a filing disclosed on April 11th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. stock on April 9th.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on 4/9/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Cummins (NYSE:CMI) on 4/9/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) on 4/9/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) on 4/9/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) on 4/9/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) on 4/9/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) on 4/9/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) on 4/9/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) on 4/9/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) on 4/8/2025.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $77.93. 7,286,289 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,530,180. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $196.85 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.04. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.50.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CGN Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. TI Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Greene

Marjorie Taylor Greene (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2021. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Greene (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.