5 Best Pharma Dividend Stocks To Buy in 2023

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

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 77

A New Jersey-based multinational pharma company, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has been paying dividends to shareholders for a long time. The company has raised its payouts for 12 years in a row and currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share. As of April 17, the stock has a dividend yield of 2.54%.

JPMorgan showed confidence in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s cardiovascular sales target by the mid-2030s. Given this, the firm maintained an Overweight rating on the stock in April.

At the end of December 2022, 77 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey owned stakes in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), with a total value of over $5 billion. Citadel Investment Group was the company’s largest shareholder in Q4.

Artisan Partners mentioned Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in its Q4 2022 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:

“Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is a provider of health care solutions including prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health and consumer care products. Shares have benefited from investors seeking safety in areas with less economic and interest rate sensitivity. With about one third of its sales generated by blockbuster oncology drug Keytruda, the key issue for investors is the success of its large R&D pipeline to replace those sales when Keytruda comes off patent in 2028. However, Merck seems to be getting little credit from investors for the 60+ programs it has in clinical development, despite having several solid and large new product opportunities. Additionally, the company’s strong balance sheet and robust free cash flow provide it multiple options for future partnerships and acquisitions, besides return of capital to shareholders via dividends and share repurchases.”