Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top 5 Dividend Growth Stock Picks

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

Fisher Asset Management’s Stake Value: $1,351,347,000
Dividend Yield as of February 16: 2.71%
Consecutive Years of Dividend Growth: 12

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is a New Jersey-based multinational pharmaceutical company that provides innovative health solutions to its consumers. Credit Suisse raised its price target on the stock to $125 and gave an Outperform rating on the shares, appreciating the company’s research and development.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has been raising its dividends consistently for the past 12 years. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.71%, as of February 16.

Fisher Asset Management started investing in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter of 2010, with shares worth nearly $10 million. In the most recent quarter, the hedge fund owned MRK stakes worth over $1.3 billion, after raising its position by 2%. The company made up 0.91% of the fund’s 13F portfolio.

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.

Baron Funds 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 large-cap pharmaceutical company with a deep heritage in drug discovery. Share gains were led by the continued growth of key asset Keytruda, the leading immune oncology agent used to treat a variety of cancers. Shares also benefited from increased investor interest as Merck proves its ability to scale its Gardasil vaccine that had previously been constrained by supply issues. We retain long-term conviction, as we expect Keytruda to solidify its position as the best-selling biopharmaceutical drug of all time.”