Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Buys Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

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. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $78.28. 16,038,395 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,563,467. The company has a market cap of $197.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $134.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $88.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.04.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,979,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,192 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, 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 owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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 note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.50.

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.

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.