5 Best Blue Chip Dividend Stocks Hedge Funds are Buying

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

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 79
Dividend Yield: 3.4%

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK), yet another healthcare company, is next on our list of the best blue chip dividend stocks hedge funds are buying and ranks 4th. The company offers both human health pharmaceuticals and animal health pharmaceuticals. It is based in New Jersey.

This July, Truist analyst Robyn Karnauskas took over coverage of shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK). The analyst placed a Buy rating on the stock alongside a $92 price target.

In the second quarter of 2021, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) had an EPS of $1.31, missing estimates by $0.04. The company’s revenue was $11.40 billion, up 4.87% year over year and also beating estimates by $208.55 million. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) has also gained 5.48% in the past 6 months.

By the end of the first quarter of 2021, 79 hedge funds out of the 866 tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) worth roughly $6.49 billion. This is compared to 82 hedge funds in the previous quarter with a total stake value of approximately $7.12 billion.