Rep. Robert Bresnahan, Jr. Sells Off Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Kim Johansen on Jun 3rd, 2025

Representative Robert Bresnahan, Jr. (R-Pennsylvania) recently sold shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK). In a filing disclosed on May 31st, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $15,001 and $50,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. stock on May 15th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “JP MORGAN BROKERAGE ACCOUNT” account.

Representative Robert Bresnahan, Jr. also recently made the following trade(s):

Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) on 5/15/2025.
Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) on 5/15/2025.
Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) on 5/15/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) on 5/15/2025.
Purchased $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) on 5/15/2025.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Hershey (NYSE:HSY) on 5/15/2025.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) on 5/15/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) on 5/15/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Danaher (NYSE:DHR) on 5/15/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) on 5/15/2025.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.8%

MRK opened at $76.22 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on MRK

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after buying an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $991,553,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after buying an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $474,543,000 after buying an additional 5,060,959 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Representative Bresnahan

Rob Bresnahan Jr. (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2025. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Bresnahan (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Rob Bresnahan Jr. was born in Kingston, Pennsylvania. He earned a B.S. in business administration, management and operations from the University of Scranton in 2012. His career experience includes working as the chief financial officer and CEO of a family business, an electrical contracting company.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(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.