Rep. Jared Moskowitz Buys Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares

Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-Florida) recently bought shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK). In a filing disclosed on December 09th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. stock on November 8th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MORGAN STANLEY ACTIVE ASSETS (5)” account.

Representative Jared Moskowitz also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) on 11/8/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) on 11/8/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) on 11/8/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) on 11/8/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) on 11/8/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) on 11/8/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) on 11/8/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) on 11/8/2024.
• Sold $50,001 – $100,000 in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) on 11/8/2024.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) on 11/8/2024.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $103.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $262.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $104.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.56. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 64.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. D.B. Root & Company LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.8% in the 2nd quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 2,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 33,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,537 shares in the last quarter. Noble Family Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.3% during the second quarter. Noble Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. M&G Plc boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.2% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 441,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,758,000 after buying an additional 70,985 shares during the period. Finally, Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.3% in the second quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 23,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,890,000 after buying an additional 6,824 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MRK. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.80.

About Representative Moskowitz

Jared Evan Moskowitz (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Florida’s 23rd Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2023. His current term ends on January 3, 2025. Moskowitz (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Florida’s 23rd Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on August 20, 2024. Moskowitz resigned his state House seat on January 11, 2019, to head the state’s Division of Emergency Management. Jared Evan Moskowitz was born in Coral Springs, Florida. Moskowitz graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from George Washington University in 2003 and a law degree from Nova Southeastern University in 2007. Moskowitz’s career experience includes working as the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management and general counsel with AshBritt Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.