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. Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $95.13 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization 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 current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $93.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Old North State Trust LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 9,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $954,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. TFR Capital LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $1,718,000. Probity Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 16,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the period. Finally, American Investment Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. American Investment Services Inc. now owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% 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.

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.