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

Representative Byron Donalds (R-Florida) recently sold shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK). In a filing disclosed on February 10th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. stock on January 16th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MORAN WEALTH IRA” account.

Representative Byron Donalds also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of RLI (NYSE:RLI) on 1/21/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY) on 1/21/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) on 1/21/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY) on 1/16/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of RLI (NYSE:RLI) on 1/16/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) on 1/16/2025.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1 %

MRK opened at $86.52 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $98.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.06. 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. has a 12 month low of $85.73 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 748.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,149,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday. Bank of America cut their target price on 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.94.

About Representative Donalds

Byron Donalds (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Florida’s 19th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2021. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Donalds (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Florida’s 19th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Byron Donalds was born in Brooklyn, New York, and lives in Naples, Florida. Donalds earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and marketing from Florida State University in 2002. His career experience includes working as a commercial credit officer in banking and as a portfolio manager in financial services.

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.