Merck EVP exercises 5,000 options, sells 5,000 shares

Merck & Co., Inc. executive David Michael Williams reported an option exercise and share sale.

Accepted by SEC EDGAR 02/06/2026 - 04:20 PM EST Learn about SEC filing dates

Rhea-AI Filing Summary

Merck & Co., Inc. executive David Michael Williams reported an option exercise and share sale. On February 6, 2026, he exercised 5,000 stock options at $77.62 per share, receiving 5,000 shares of common stock, and then sold 5,000 common shares at $121.905 per share. Following these transactions, he directly owned 30,837.743 shares of Merck common stock and held 4,600 stock options.

Insider Trade Summary

Exercise and Sale: 5,000 shares ($221K approx. pre-tax spread)

Exercise and Sale 3 txns

Insider Williams David Michael

Role EVP,Chief Info&Digital Officer

Sold 5,000 shs ($610K)

Approx. gross sale proceeds $610K

Approx. exercise cost $388K

Approx. pre-tax spread $221K

Share of Position Sold 14.0%

Type	Security	Shares	Price	Value
Exercise	Stock Option (Right to Buy)	5,000	$0.00	$0.00
Exercise	Common Stock	5,000	$77.62	$388K
Sale	Common Stock	5,000	$121.905	$610K

Holdings After Transaction: Stock Option (Right to Buy) — 4,600 contracts (Direct); Common Stock — 30,837.743 shares (Direct)

Holdings Before and After: Stock Option (Right to Buy), 9,600 to 4,600 contracts (Direct); Common Stock, 30,837.743 to 30,837.743 shares (Direct)

Other Insiders: 7 other insiders reported open-market sales of this stock in the 30 days up to this filing.

Footnotes (2)

1. F1. Exercise price and holdings reflect the adjustments that occurred as of June 2, 2021 in connection with the Organon & Co. ("Organon") spin-off as described in the registration statement on Form 10 filed with the SEC by Organon (the "Form 10"). As reported in the Form 10, all Merck stock option awards outstanding as of immediately prior to the distribution date were converted on the distribution date into adjusted Merck awards for Merck employees to preserve the same intrinsic value and general terms and conditions (including vesting) as were in place immediately prior to the adjustments.
2. F2. The option vests and becomes exercisable in three equal installments on 5/3/2020, 5/3/2021 and 5/3/2022.

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SEC Form 4

FORM 4

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

OMB APPROVAL

OMB Number:			3235-0287
Estimated average burden
hours per response:			0.5

Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

Check this box to indicate that a transaction was made pursuant to a contract, instruction or written plan for the purchase or sale of equity securities of the issuer that is intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c). See Instruction 10.

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*

Williams David Michael

(Last) (First) (Middle)

MERCK & CO., INC.

126 EAST LINCOLN AVENUE

(Street)

RAHWAY NJ 07065

(City) (State) (Zip)

2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
Merck & Co., Inc. [ MRK ]

5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)

	Director		10% Owner
X	Officer (give title below)		Other (specify below)
	EVP,Chief Info&Digital Officer

3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
02/06/2026

4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

X	Form filed by One Reporting Person
	Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)			5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
			Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price
Common Stock	02/06/2026		M		5,000	A	$77.62	35,837.743	D
Common Stock	02/06/2026		S		5,000	D	$121.905	30,837.743	D

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)		6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4)		8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)	9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)	10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
				Code	V	(A)	(D)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Stock Option (Right to Buy)	$77.62(1)	02/06/2026		M			5,000	05/03/2020(2)	05/02/2029	Common Stock	5,000	$0	4,600	D

Explanation of Responses:

1. Exercise price and holdings reflect the adjustments that occurred as of June 2, 2021 in connection with the Organon & Co. ("Organon") spin-off as described in the registration statement on Form 10 filed with the SEC by Organon (the "Form 10"). As reported in the Form 10, all Merck stock option awards outstanding as of immediately prior to the distribution date were converted on the distribution date into adjusted Merck awards for Merck employees to preserve the same intrinsic value and general terms and conditions (including vesting) as were in place immediately prior to the adjustments.

2. The option vests and becomes exercisable in three equal installments on 5/3/2020, 5/3/2021 and 5/3/2022.

	/s/ Kelly E. W. Grez as Attorney-in-Fact for David Michael Williams	02/06/2026
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
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