5 Dividend Stocks to Buy According to Jacob Mitchell’s Antipodes Partners

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

Dividend Yield as of August 8: 3.13%
Antipodes Partners’ Stake Value: $179,496,000

Antipodes Partners opened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the second quarter of 2019, with shares worth over $122.8 million. In Q1 2022, the hedge fund raised its position in the pharmaceutical company by 12%, owning over 2 million shares, with a total value of roughly $180 million. The company represented 6.36% of Jacob Mitchell’s portfolio.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has raised its dividends 11 years in a row, with a 5-year dividend CAGR of 8.81%. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.13%, as of August 8.

In July, Barclays lifted its price target on Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) to $101 with an Overweight rating on the shares, appreciating the company’s Q2 earnings beat.

The number of hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey owning stakes in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) grew to 84 in Q1 2022, from 80 in the previous quarter. The collective value of these stakes stood at over $5.8 billion.

Sound Shore Fund mentioned Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in its recently-published Q2 2022 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:

“On the positive side, a number of our health care names outperformed, including drug maker Merck & Co. Benefitting from a best in class research and development team, Merck’s progress is being fueled by the impressive growth of its immunooncology cancer drug, Keytruda. The stock remains attractive at less than 12 times 2023 earnings.”