Zachary Jennifer 4

What Happened

• Zachary Jennifer, EVP and General Counsel of Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK), received two equity awards on 2026-05-05: 12,064 restricted stock units (RSUs) and 35,312 derivative stock awards/options. Both awards were reported as acquired at $0.00 (no cash paid at grant); the filing does not state an aggregate market value.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-05-05; Form 4 filed: 2026-05-07 (filed promptly within typical reporting window).
• Grant details: 12,064 RSUs (each represents a contingent right to one share) and 35,312 derivative award/option units per the filing footnotes.
• Vesting: Both awards vest in three equal installments on 5/5/2027, 5/5/2028 and 5/5/2029 (footnotes F2 and F3). Footnote F3 specifies the option vests and becomes exercisable on the same schedule.
• Price: Acquired at $0.00 in the filing (grant price / acquisition cost reported as zero); the filing does not show market value or an exercise price for the option.
• Shares owned after transaction: Not provided in the excerpted transaction details.
• Filing timeliness: Not marked late; reported two days after the transaction date.

Context

• These are compensation grants (not open-market purchases or sales). RSUs convert to actual shares only as they vest; options must vest and then be exercised to become shares — neither action indicates an immediate sale or purchase.
• Grants like these are routine executive compensation and do not by themselves signal a buy or sell decision by the insider.