Rep. Robert Bresnahan, Jr. Sells Off Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

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. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $76.22 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.39. The company has a market capitalization of $191.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 47.16%.

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

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America dropped their target price 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.19.

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.

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.