Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Unloaded Rep. Val T. Hoyle

Key Points

• Representative Val T. Hoyle sold shares of Merck & Co., Inc. for between $1,001 and $15,000 on September 23rd, 2025, a transaction disclosed in a filing on October 10th.
• Merck's recent quarterly earnings report revealed $2.13 earnings per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.03, with total revenue of $15.81 billion against an expectation of $15.92 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting a 3.8% yield, which was paid to investors of record as of September 15th.

Representative Val T. Hoyle (D-Oregon) recently sold shares of Merck & Co., Inc. NYSE: MRK. In a filing disclosed on October 10th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. stock on September 23rd. The trade occurred in the Representative's "FIDELITY ROLLOVER IRA" account.

Representative Val T. Hoyle also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Marriott International NASDAQ: MAR on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Transdigm Group NYSE: TDG on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of H&R Block NYSE: HRB on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of NIKE NYSE: NKE on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Bank of New York Mellon NYSE: BK on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Cisco Systems NASDAQ: CSCO on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Capital One Financial NYSE: COF on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Pentair NYSE: PNR on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Heico NYSE: HEI.A on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Target NYSE: TGT on 9/23/2025.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7%

MRK opened at $86.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $111.58. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $83.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.51.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,665,601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,274 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,330,668,000 after purchasing an additional 927,621 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares during the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $2,889,340,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $2,858,570,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.31.

About Representative Hoyle

Val Hoyle (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Oregon's 4th Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2023. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027. Hoyle (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Oregon's 4th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election. Val Hoyle was born in California and lives in Springfield, Oregon. Hoyle graduated from Merrimack High School. She earned a B.A. in political science from Emmanuel College in 1992. Her career experience includes working as a director at United Way of Lane County, a policy fellow at Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics, and a commissioner at the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. Hoyle has also worked in domestic and international sales, as well as manufacturing distribution.

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.

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