Williams David Michael 4

What Happened

• David Michael Williams, EVP & Chief Information & Digital Officer at Merck (MRK), exercised stock options for 5,000 shares at $77.62/share (cost $388,100) on 2026-02-06 and sold 5,000 shares in an open-market transaction the same day at $121.91/share for total proceeds of $609,525. The filing also reports a 5,000-share derivative/conversion disposition recorded at $0.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-02-06 (filing date: 2026-02-06) — timely filed.
• Exercise: 5,000 shares at $77.62 each = $388,100 (code M — option exercise/conversion).
• Sale: 5,000 shares at $121.91 each = $609,525 (code S — open market sale).
• Derivative entry: 5,000 shares reported as disposed at $0 (listed as a derivative/convertible item).
• Shares owned after the transactions: not specified in the provided filing excerpt.
• Footnotes: F1 notes adjustments from the June 2, 2021 Organon spin-off that affected option terms; F2 notes the option vesting schedule (three equal installments on 5/3/2020, 5/3/2021 and 5/3/2022).

Context

• This sequence (exercise followed by immediate sale) is a common way for insiders to realize value from vested options and often reflects routine liquidity rather than a directional view on the company. The filing reports both the option exercise and the open-market sale on the same day, consistent with a cashless or near-cashless exercise and immediate disposition.