MRK
Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co. is a global pharmaceutical company with a dominant political signal being $21.0M in annual doctor payments and direct stock holdings by the executive branch.
Govt Dependence
30/100
Regulatory Density
95/100
Lobbying Intensity
5/100
Political Signal
NEUTRAL
BusinessWhat MRK does
Merck & Co. is a research-intensive biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets a broad range of human health products, including vaccines and oncology therapeutics. Its revenue is primarily derived from prescription medicines and vaccines sold globally.
12 months past · 3 months futureMRK activity timeline
Congress
buy
sell
Insider · Form 4
open-market buy
Hedge fund · 13F
opened
+ added
− trimmed
closed
holds
Bills
past action (this ticker)
upcoming markup (sector)
★ carveout (this ticker)
240 trading days ·
25 congressional trades shown
·
0 insider buys
·
9 13F filings
·
1 past bill actions
·
16 upcoming markups
Executive Branch ConflictsMRK held by Trump-administration officials
1 cabinet/senior official reported MRK positions in OGE Form 278 disclosures across 4 filings.
Lifetime Government AwardsMRK federal contracts
MRK doesn't hold direct federal contracts.
Verified via USASpending.gov: $0 reported in direct prime-contract awards. Companies in this position typically sell federal services indirectly through prime contractors and integrators (e.g., Lockheed Martin, Booz Allen, Microsoft Azure) or through commercial channels that don't appear in USASpending data.
Smart Money · 13F HoldingsHedge funds holding MRK
$14.59B
Total MRK held by tracked 13F funds
40
Funds with MRK positions
+40
Funds opened this quarter
Millennium Management
$1.33B
opened
2024-03-31
Millennium Management
$1.19B
opened
2024-06-30
Citadel Advisors
$906M
opened
2024-03-31
Citadel Advisors
$777M
opened
2024-06-30
Citadel Advisors
$731M
opened
2024-09-30
Millennium Management
$716M
opened
2025-12-31
Citadel Advisors
$677M
opened
8 overlap
2025-12-31
D.E. Shaw & Co.
$628M
opened
2025-03-31
32 more 13F positions tracked · quarterly delta charts available in member dashboard
Politicians Trading MRKMembers of Congress with recent MRK positions
18 politicians traded MRK across 128 disclosed transactions totaling $3.1M (last 730 days).
Greed score = composite of trade frequency, volume & recency across the politician's entire history (not just MRK). 0-30 LOW · 30-60 MID · 60+ HIGH.
Michael T. McCaul
6 buys
11 sells
$1.3M
2026-01-13
LOW · 0
Ro Khanna
18 buys
20 sells
$745K
2025-09-29
LOW · 0
Gilbert Ray Cisneros
8 buys
6 sells
$210K
2025-12-19
HIGH · 61
Robert P. Bresnahan
2 buys
4 sells
$195K
2025-05-15
LOW · 0
Jefferson Shreve
2 buys
2 sells
$130K
2025-04-17
LOW · 0
Josh Gottheimer
1 buy
4 sells
$89K
2026-02-04
LOW · 1
Sheri Biggs
2 sells
$65K
2025-03-19
LOW · 0
Jonathan L. Jackson
2 sells
$65K
2024-09-24
LOW · 1
Julie Johnson
4 buys
4 sells
$64K
2025-12-18
LOW · 15
Scott Franklin
4 buys
2 sells
$48K
2025-06-16
LOW · 0
Val T. Hoyle
2 buys
2 sells
$32K
2025-09-23
LOW · 0
Lisa C. McClain
2 buys
2 sells
$32K
2025-08-04
LOW · 0
Jared Moskowitz
2 buys
2 sells
$32K
2025-01-15
LOW · 0
Bruce Westerman
2 buys
2 sells
$32K
2025-04-21
LOW · 0
Ritchie Torres
2 buys
2 sells
$32K
2025-07-11
LOW · 0
3 more politicians active in MRK · full table in member dashboard
Congressional TradesWho in Congress is trading MRK
2026-02-04
Josh Gottheimer
Purchase
$1,001 - $15,000
2026-01-13
Michael T. McCaul
Sale
$15,001 - $50,000
2025-12-18
Julie Johnson
Sale
$1,001 - $15,000
2025-12-19
Gilbert Ray Cisneros
Purchase
$1,001 - $15,000
2025-11-18
Gilbert Ray Cisneros
Purchase
$1,001 - $15,000
2025-11-13
Julie Johnson
Sale
$1,001 - $15,000
2025-10-27
Michael T. McCaul
Sale
$15,001 - $50,000
2025-10-27
Michael T. McCaul
sale
$15,001 - $50,000
2025-09-23
Val T. Hoyle
Sale
$1,001 - $15,000
2025-09-23
Val T. Hoyle
sale
$1,001 - $15,000
2025-03-19
Sheri Biggs
Sale
$15,001 - $50,000
200d late
2025-03-19
Sheri Biggs
sale
$15,001 - $50,000
200d late
30+ trades on file · most recent 2026-03-16
Corporate Insiders · Form 4What CEOs, CFOs, and directors are doing with their own stock
Stock awards & option exercises
31
stock awards · $34.2M market value
7
option exercises · $18.2M
2026-03-31
GLOCER THOMAS H
Director
AWARD
405.271 sh
$49K
2026-03-31
Coe Mary Ellen
Director
AWARD
249.397 sh
$30K
2026-03-31
Seidman Christine E
Director
AWARD
67.545 sh
$8K
2026-01-26
Davis Robert M
Chairman, CEO & President
AWARD
47,434 sh
$5.1M
2026-01-26
Davis Robert M
Chairman, CEO & President
AWARD
47,434 sh
$5.1M
2026-01-26
Li Dean Y
Executive VP & President, MRL
AWARD
20,469 sh
$2.2M
2026-01-26
Li Dean Y
Executive VP & President, MRL
AWARD
20,469 sh
$2.2M
2026-01-26
Litchfield Caroline
EVP & CFO
AWARD
15,852 sh
$1.7M
For MRK, executives receive stock primarily as compensation rather than via open-market purchases — typical for established large-cap firms.
Bills Affecting MRKLive legislation impacting this stock
HR.1860 · 119th
Women Veterans Cancer Care Coordination Act
HR.1867 · 119th
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove in-person requirements under Medicare for mental health services furnish
HR.1843 · 119th
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to increase transparency in generic drug applications.
HRES.185 · 119th
Recognizing the need of Congress to prevent, address, and treat obesity as a disease in the United States on this World Obesity Da
HR.1776 · 119th
New Health Options Act of 2025
HRES.182 · 119th
Expressing support for the designation of March 3, 2025, as "National Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Day".
S.812 · 119th
A bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure veterans may obtain a physical copy of a form for reimbursement of ce
S.786 · 119th
Public Health Funding Restoration Act
S.763 · 119th
Telehealth Expansion Act of 2025
HR.661 · 119th
MIRACLE Medical Technology Act of 2025
Political ProfileWhere MRK sits in Washington
[object Object]
STRUCTURAL: Strong committee alignment via donations to health subcommittee members ($21.6K total) and executive branch stock holdings (`get_executive_branch_exposure.by_ticker[0].holdings`). EVIDENTIARY: No recent corporate insider buys (Tier F, `get_corporate_insider_signal.total_buys` = 0) and net selling by congressional traders (7 sales vs. 4 purchases in last 12 months). Net: Structural access countered by weak transactional signals.
Regulatory ExposureThreats & opportunities
Regulatory threats
-
Heightened scrutiny of physician payment relationships under transparency laws.HHS/CMS"`get_political_influence.doctor_payments` shows $21.0M in payments to 216,585 physicians in 2024."
Regulatory opportunities
-
Potential for defense-related chemical manufacturing contracts.DOD"Lobbying filing for 'MERCK KGAA' cites 'defense' issue area for 'chemical manufacturing' (`get_political_influence.lobbying.issue_areas`)."
Capitol Hill AlliesChampions & critics
Congressional champions
Congressional critics
- No specific congressional critics identified.
LobbyingWho's hired to advocate for MRK
FORBES-TATE defense
Member intelligence layer
Live signals + predictions for MRK — for Founders
The free page above gives you the public record. Members see the real-time intelligence layer on top of it:
- Live 7-layer signal scores when Congress trades MRK
- Bill Pass Index v2 odds for every bill on the watch list
- Iron Triangle alerts (committee × donor × trade)
- SEC Form 4 cluster detection (CEO + CFO + director buys)
- Whale-Opportunity expected-value ranking
- Custom watchlist alerts via email + Discord
Frequently AskedAbout MRK & political exposure
Does Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) hold federal contracts?
No direct prime contracts reported in USASpending.gov for Merck & Co., Inc.. Companies in the semiconductor and AI hardware sectors often sell to the federal government via prime contractors and cloud resellers (Microsoft Azure, AWS, Lockheed Martin systems integration) rather than as direct primes.
Which Trump cabinet officials own MRK stock?
1 Trump cabinet members or senior White House staff have disclosed holdings in MRK on their OGE 278 financial disclosures, including Donald J. Trump. See the Cabinet Conflicts panel for details.
Has Congress traded MRK stock?
722 congressional trades by 65 unique members of Congress, most recently on 2026-02-04. See the Congressional Trading panel for politician-by-politician breakdown.
What is MRK political risk profile?
Government dependence: 30/100. Lobbying intensity: 5/100. Political signal: neutral. Donor party split: R 40% / D 60%.
How does GovGreed track MRK political activity?
GovGreed integrates STOCK Act congressional trade disclosures, FEC contributions, OGE executive-branch disclosures, USASpending federal contracts, Senate LDA lobbying filings, and SEC Form 4 corporate insider trades into a single queryable graph. MRK data is updated daily from these official federal sources.