Twin Capital Management Inc. Has $4.80 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Twin Capital Management cut its Merck stake by 29.8% in the first quarter, leaving it with 39,931 shares valued at about $4.8 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy in Merck, with hedge funds and asset managers holding about 76.07% of the stock; several large firms, including Vanguard, State Street and Wellington, also increased their positions.
• Analysts remain constructive on MRK, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.94, while Merck’s latest earnings beat estimates and its quarterly dividend was $0.85 per share.

Twin Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 29.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,931 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,945 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.6% of Twin Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Twin Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company's stock worth $12,737,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859,990 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company's stock worth $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,307,572,000 after buying an additional 249,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,946,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,731,018,000 after buying an additional 359,486 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, CICC Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $123.56 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $305.16 billion, a PE ratio of 34.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $76.66 and a one year high of $130.29. The company's fifty day moving average price is $119.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.

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