Merck Officer David M. Williams Files Form 144 to Sell ~$3.19M in Stock

Executive Summary

On November 2, 2026, Merck & Co., Inc. officer David M. Williams submitted a Form 144 notice proposing the sale of 21,359 shares of common stock with an aggregate market value of approximately $3.19 million through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.

Transaction Details

• Securities to be Sold: 21,359 shares of Common Stock.
• Aggregate Market Value: $3,185,464.17 (implied price of ~$149.14 per share).
• Acquisition Origin: The securities were acquired on November 2, 2026, via the exercise of stock options under a registered plan with cash payment.
• Trading Plan / Approximate Sale Date: November 2, 2026.

Prior Transactions (Past 3 Months)

David M. Williams previously sold 52,847 shares on August 5, 2026, generating gross proceeds of $6,805,145.18.

Market Context & Significance

• Impact: Rated Medium. While the proposed transaction represents a meaningful dollar value ($3.19M), it constitutes a negligible fraction of Merck's 2.47 billion shares outstanding.
• Nature of Trade: This represents a same-day exercise-and-sell transaction, which is standard liquidity practice for executive compensation and stock option monetization.