Sep. 18 at 8:45 PM
Since the STOCK Act of 2012-
Members of Congress have consistently outperformed the S&P 500.
While most attention goes to their Big Tech trades…
I noticed 3 under-the-radar stocks that Congress has been buying recently.
Let’s break them down 🧵
📊 Stock #1: Hercules Capital
$HTGC
Market cap:
$3.4B
5-yr return: +66%
Dividend yield: ~9.3%
BDCs must pay out 90%+ of taxable income as dividends, making them income machines.
The interesting part?
One Representative from North Carolina has been consistently buying
$HTGC — with zero sales.
Base dividend yield: 8.3%
Total dividend yield (inc. specials): 9.7%
Base dividend coverage: 125% ✅
P/NAV: 1.64 (trading at a premium)
But here’s the risk…
$HTGC has 96.7% variable-rate debt.
When rates rise → loan income & dividends go up.
When rates fall → income & payouts drop just as fast.
With the Fed likely cutting rates, sustainability of that 9%+ yield will be tested.
📊 Stock #2: Merck (
$MRK)
Dividend yield: 3.9%
P/E: ~12.8 (cheap vs. history)
Sales grew from
$40B (2017) →
$64B (2024)
The stock is down 28% in the last year.
Congress has been buying heavily here too.
Why the disconnect?
Merck’s blockbuster drug Keytruda makes up ~50% of sales.
Its patent expires in 2028.
So the future depends almost entirely on their pipeline.
Is it strong enough to replace Keytruda?
That’s the billion-dollar question.
📊 Stock #3: ASML (
$ASML)
- EUV lithography monopoly 🖥️
- Backbone of the semiconductor industry
- EPS growth est: +20% annually next 5 years
P/E: 28.7 (high, but potentially justified)
Congress buying surged in the most recent quarter.
ASML is volatile:
$888 →
$379 →
$1,100 → <
$600 in just a few years
- Dividend yield: ~1%, but mgmt promises growth + buybacks
- Sales grew from
$9B (2017) →
$28B (2024)
Long-term, this is one of the most important companies in the world.
So there you have it:
3 under-the-radar stocks Members of Congress have been quietly buying:
1️⃣
$HTGC – high-yield BDC, but watch the rate cuts
2️⃣
$MRK – cheap pharma with patent risk
3️⃣
$ASML – volatile, but a tech monopoly
I recently found an AMAZING guide on valuation from Aswath Damodaran.
You can download it for free here: https://dividendology.ck.page/d6951c8537
