5 Dividend Stocks to Buy According to Lee Munder Capital Group

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

Dividend Yield as of June 30: 2.98%
Lee Munder Capital Group’s Stake Value: $13,279,000

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company that is famous for its diabetes and asthma-related products and drugs. The company recently launched Merck Digital Sciences Studio, which will support early-stage biomedical startups as they generate technologies for drug development.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) holds an 11-year track record of consistent dividend growth. The company’s quarterly dividend stands at $0.69 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.98%, as of June 30. In June, the company was also added to Goldman Sachs’ list of high dividend stocks, with an estimated yield of 3.2% in 2022. As Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) completed its acquisition of Seagen, Cowen raised its price target on the stock in June to $102, with a ‘Market Perform’ rating on the shares.

As of the quarter ended March 2022, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was in 84 hedge funds’ portfolios, according to Insider Monkey’s database. The collective value of these stakes was nearly $5.9 billion. Fisher Asset Management was the company’s leading shareholder in Q1, with over 11.8 million shares.

Lee Munder Capital Group opened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during Q1 2022, buying 161,848 shares, worth over $13.2 million. The company made up 0.76% of the hedge fund’s portfolio.

ClearBridge Investments mentioned Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in its Q4 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm had to say:

“Other pharma companies are providing solutions as well. Merck’s antiviral pill molnupiravir is less effective than Pfizer’s, but it will be a helpful alternative for patients who cannot take Pfizer’s due to drug-drug interactions. Merck is also helping to manufacture Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, which has less stringent storage requirements than the mRNA vaccines do.”