Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by ExodusPoint Capital Management LP

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 26.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 404,251 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 83,394 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.4% of ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $46,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 102,675.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,860,147,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,642,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,858,338,022 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 68,563,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,294,504,000 after purchasing an additional 6,546,946 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,218,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,438,036,000 after buying an additional 2,879,481 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 41,850,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,643,267,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000,816 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,327,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,363,385,000 after purchasing an additional 39,289,404 shares during the period. 74.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, November 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $122.00 in a report on Friday, October 20th. 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 upgraded shares of 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.51 during trading on Monday, reaching $102.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,359,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,445,218. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.36 and a 12 month high of $119.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $104.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $259.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.82 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Insider Activity

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.