Rep. Jefferson Shreve Purchases Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Representative Jefferson Shreve (R-Indiana) recently bought shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK). In a filing disclosed on March 09th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $15,001 and $50,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. stock on February 24th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “CRT – STANDARD UNIT TRUST” account.

Representative Jefferson Shreve also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of RTX (NYSE:RTX) on 2/24/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) on 2/24/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) on 2/24/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) on 2/24/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) on 2/24/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) on 2/24/2025.
• Purchased $50,001 – $100,000 in shares of AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) on 2/24/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) on 2/24/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) on 2/24/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) on 2/24/2025.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $95.13 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $93.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.40. The stock has a market cap of $240.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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

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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,979,041,000 after buying an additional 1,292,192 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,606,360,000 after buying an additional 1,536,474 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after buying an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during 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 buying an additional 2,026,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective 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. TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was 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 available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Shreve

Jefferson Shreve (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Indiana’s 6th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2025. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Shreve (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Indiana’s 6th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Email [email protected] to notify us of updates to this biography.
Jefferson Shreve earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University in 1989, a graduate degree from the University of London in 1998, and a graduate degree from Purdue University in 2003. Shreve’s career experience includes working as a real estate executive.

Shreve was elected 7th District Vice Chairman of the Indiana Republican State Committee on January 17, 2018, and was re-elected on March 6, 2021. In 2020, he was selected as a district-level delegate to the 2020 Republican National Convention.

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.