5 Dividend Stocks in Billionaire Richard Chilton’s Portfolio

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

Stake Value of Chilton Investment Company: $2,239,000

Percentage of Chilton Investment Company’s 13F Portfolio: 0.05%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 77

Dividend Yield as of December 11: 3.80%

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. This December, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) announced it has entered into an agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) to manufacture molnupiravir, the company’s investigational oral antiviral medicine for the treatment of COVID-19.

On December 8th, Wells Fargo analyst Mohit Bansal initiated coverage of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) with an Overweight rating and a $90 price target.

Artisan Partners published its first-quarter 2021 investor letter, in which the firm shared its views on Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK). Here’s what the firm had to say:

“In Q1, we initiated a position in Merck, a provider of health care solutions including prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health and consumer care products. We purchased Merck when the stock came under pressure in part on concerns that the newly minted Biden administration could implement regulatory changes and lower drug costs in the pharmaceutical industry. Recent, but anticipated changes to Merck’s management team have also weighed on shares, as have concerns over the company’s heavy reliance on immunotherapy treatment Keytruda. Notably, Merck is not getting much 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. While Merck is undergoing a period of transition, we think the company’s fundamentals are strong and believe changes to management should be a catalyst for improvement.”