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

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 Down 0.4 %

MRK traded down $0.28 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $78.89. 3,146,884 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,513,873. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.96 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $199.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $88.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.04. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.50.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.