Representative Robert Bresnahan, Jr. (R-Pennsylvania) recently sold shares of Merck & Co., Inc. NYSE: MRK. In a filing disclosed on May 31st, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $15,001 and $50,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. stock on May 15th. The trade occurred in the Representative's "JP MORGAN BROKERAGE ACCOUNT" account.
Representative Robert Bresnahan, Jr. also recently made the following trade(s):
- Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Zimmer Biomet NYSE: ZBH on 5/15/2025.
- Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Elevance Health NYSE: ELV on 5/15/2025.
- Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of PepsiCo NASDAQ: PEP on 5/15/2025.
- Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of WEC Energy Group NYSE: WEC on 5/15/2025.
- Purchased $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ: AMD on 5/15/2025.
- Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Hershey NYSE: HSY on 5/15/2025.
- Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Kraft Heinz NASDAQ: KHC on 5/15/2025.
- Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Exxon Mobil NYSE: XOM on 5/15/2025.
- Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Danaher NYSE: DHR on 5/15/2025.
- Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances NYSE: IFF on 5/15/2025.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.28. 12,998,659 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,632,092. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.
In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.19.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on MRK
Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during 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. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,072,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,859 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $3,479,799,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.
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.
(
Get Free Report)
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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