Merger set to enhance this top pick

Article Excerpt

UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORP. $137 (New York symbol UTX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 862.8 million; Market cap: $118.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.utc.com) is merging with Raytheon Co. (New York symbol RTN), a leading maker of electronic systems for military aircraft and radar systems. Raytheon shareholders will own 43% of the new firm, while United Technologies investors will hold the remaining 57%. Eliminating overlapping operations should cut $1 billion from the merged company’s annual costs by the end of the fourth year. As a larger firm, it should also be better able to compete for new defence contracts. If shareholders and regulators approve, the two companies expect to complete the merger in the first half of 2020. United Technologies is our #1 Conservative buy for 2019. 2019…