Element Capital Management LLC Has $36.78 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Element Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 318,703 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,943 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 2.5% of Element Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Element Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $36,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.1% in the second quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,237,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 80,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,550,000 after acquiring an additional 19,697 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.59% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $0.07 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $102.61. 3,673,145 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,451,148. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.11. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.36 and a 12-month high of $119.65. The company has a market capitalization of $260.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.82 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.30 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 18.26% and a net margin of 7.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, November 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “a-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, September 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $132.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, October 27th. UBS Group raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $117.00 to $122.00 in a report on Friday, October 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, November 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 2,081 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.38, for a total value of $213,052.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,862,394.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 43,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total value of $4,602,729.69. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 111,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,738,572.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 2,081 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.38, for a total transaction of $213,052.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,862,394.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.