5 Stocks Least Vulnerable to Recession

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

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 84

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is a healthcare company with operations worldwide. The company was founded in 1891 and has weathered bear markets and recessions since then. The company operates through two segments: Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has been consistent with growing its dividends for a decade now. As of July 20, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is offering a forward dividend yield of 2.91% which the company supports with its trailing twelve-month free cash flows of $12.72 billion.

Wall Street analysts are bullish on Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK). This July, Daiwa analyst Narumi Nakagiri raised her price target on Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) to $102 from $89 and upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral. On July 8, Morgan Stanley analyst Terence Flynn raised his price target on Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) to $88 from $87 and maintained an Equal Weight rating on the shares.

At the end of Q1 2022, 84 hedge funds held stakes in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK). The total value of these stakes came in at $5.86 billion, up from $3.78 billion a quarter ago with 80 positions. The hedge fund sentiment for the stock is positive.

As of June 30, Beech Hill Partners is the largest shareholder in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) and has stakes worth $6.7 million in the company. The investment covers 3.58% of Beech Hill Partners’ 13F portfolio.

You can also take a look at 10 Stocks to Buy Before the Next Recession and 10 Best Recession Stocks To Buy.

Follow Insider Monkey on Twitter