5 Best Dogs of the Dow Stocks Ranked By Hedge Fund Sentiment

1. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 82

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has been raising its dividends consistently for the past 12 years. It currently offers a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.61%, as recorded on December 14.

At the end of Q3 2022, 82 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey presented a bullish stance on Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), up from 79 in the previous quarter. The stakes owned by these hedge funds have a total value of over $4.7 billion.

Chartwell Investment Partners mentioned Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in its Q2 2022 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:

“In the Dividend Equity accounts, the three best performers in Q2 includes Merck (NYSE:MRK, 3.6%), up 12.0%. Merck, like other pharma companies, is in a defensive business, but the stock also did well as peak-sales estimates for their flagship drug, Keytruda, have gone up (JPMorgan estimates $32 billion in sales by 2026).”

You can also take a look at 16 Best Dividend Stocks of 2022 and 12 Defensive Healthcare Dividend Stocks To Buy

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