Twin Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Twin Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,668 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,820 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 0.8% of Twin Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 82,442,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,487,472,000 after buying an additional 5,196,914 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 41,850,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,643,267,000 after buying an additional 4,000,816 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% during 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 buying an additional 39,289,404 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,951,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,289,429,000 after buying an additional 1,246,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,859,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,074,048,000 after buying an additional 1,186,842 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded down $0.45 on Thursday, hitting $124.92. 2,062,201 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,261,445. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $133.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.76. The stock has a market cap of $316.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 891.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,200.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.25.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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 under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.