5 Dividend Stocks to Buy According to Sean Murphy’s Game Creek Capital

In this article, we discuss 5 dividend stocks to buy according to Sean Murphy’s Game Creek Capital. If you want to read our detailed analysis of Murphy’s investment strategy and his hedge fund’s past performance, go directly to read 10 Dividend Stocks to Buy According to Sean Murphy’s Game Creek Capital. 

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

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 84
Game Creek Capital’s Stake Value: $2,133,000
Dividend Yield as of May 31: 2.97%

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) recently got approval from European Commission for its Keytruda drug which is used to treat certain patients with triple-negative breast cancer. The drug will be used in combination with chemotherapy. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is up 21.09% year-to-date, as of the market close of May 31.

In May, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share. The company holds an 11-year track record of consistent dividend growth. As of May 31, the stock’s dividend yield was recorded at 2.97%. In April, Barclays lifted its price target on Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) to $97, with an Overweight rating on the shares, as the company reported a 50% year-over-year growth in its revenue for the first quarter of 2022.

Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management owned a $970.8 million worth of stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), becoming its largest shareholder in Q1 2022. In addition to this, 84 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on the company at the end of March 2022, up from 80 funds in the quarter earlier. These stakes hold a collective value of over $5.8 billion, showing growth from $3.7 billion worth of stakes held by hedge funds in Q4 2021.

Game Creek sold off its entire stake worth $318,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter of 2019 and resumed its position in the company a year later, purchasing shares worth over $1 million. At the end of Q1 2022, the hedge fund owned 26,000 MRK shares, valued at over $2.13 million. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) accounted for 0.84% of Sean Murphy’s portfolio.

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