Rep. Julie Johnson Sells Off Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Dec 15th, 2025

Representative Julie Johnson (D-Texas) recently sold shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK). In a filing disclosed on December 11th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. stock on November 13th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “CHASE BROKERAGE ACCOUNT (3935)” account.

Representative Julie Johnson also recently made the following trade(s):

Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) on 11/13/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) on 11/13/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) on 11/13/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) on 11/13/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) on 11/13/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) on 11/13/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) on 11/13/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) on 11/13/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) on 11/13/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) on 11/13/2025.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $100.33 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $105.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $92.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. The business had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.50.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 1,433,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,661,000 after purchasing an additional 278,925 shares in the last quarter. Regal Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $1,753,000. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 5,273,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $473,348,000 after acquiring an additional 312,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, S Bank Fund Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,971,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Johnson

Julie Johnson (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2025. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Johnson (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Julie Johnson earned a B.A. in history and government from the University of Texas at Austin in 1987 and a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1991. Johnson’s career experience includes working as an attorney.

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.