Twin Capital Management Inc. Purchases 4,783 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Twin Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,876 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,783 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.7% of Twin Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. DLD Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $585,192,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,665,585,000 after acquiring an additional 2,821,766 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,336,877,000 after acquiring an additional 2,735,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $26,770,014,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,853 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE MRK opened at $113.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $279.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.92. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.