Rep. Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. Purchases Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Representative Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. purchased shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) valued between $1,001 and $15,000 on August 5th, as disclosed in a filing on September 12th.
• Merck reported a Q2 2023 EPS of $2.13, exceeding analysts' expectations, and set a fiscal year 2025 guidance of 8.870-8.970 EPS.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, representing a 4.0% dividend yield and will be paid to shareholders on October 7th.

Representative Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. (D-California) recently bought shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK). In a filing disclosed on September 12th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. stock on August 5th. The trade occurred in the Representative's "150 MAIN STREET TRUST > BANK OF AMERICA" account.

Representative Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Semtech NASDAQ: SMTC on 9/2/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Chart Industries NYSE: GTLS on 9/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Avient NYSE: AVNT on 9/2/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Amdocs NASDAQ: DOX on 8/27/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Amdocs NASDAQ: DOX on 8/26/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Intapp NASDAQ: INTA on 8/26/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of APi Group NYSE: APG on 8/26/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Waters NYSE: WAT on 8/26/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Semtech NASDAQ: SMTC on 8/26/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Fortive NYSE: FTV on 8/26/2025.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $81.41. The stock had a trading volume of 25,594,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,025,118. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.42. The company has a market capitalization of $203.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $118.16.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.41.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,330,668,000 after acquiring an additional 927,621 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,263,991,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636,183 shares during the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,889,340,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,858,570,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Representative Cisneros

Gil Cisneros (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing California's 31st Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2025. His current term ends on January 3, 2027. Cisneros (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent California's 31st Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election. Gil Cisneros served in the U.S. Navy as a supply officer from 1994 to 2004. Cisneros earned a bachelor's degree in political science from George Washington University in 1994, a master's in business administration from Regis University in 2002, and a master's degree in urban education policy from Brown University in 2015. His career experience includes working as a logistics manager for Frito-Lay. In 2010, Cisneros won the lottery and became involved in activism and philanthropy, founding a scholarship program for local high school students. In 2021, President Joe Biden (D) appointed Cisneros as under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

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.