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

Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 61,464 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.7% of Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $81.48 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.58 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.