5 Dividend Stocks to Buy and Hold

3. Merck & Company Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 77

Dividend Yield: 3.2%

Merck & Company Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is another pharmaceutical company on our list and is based in New Jersey. The company is one of the most noteworthy dividend stocks to buy and hold, based on future prospects for the company. For instance, analyst David Toung from Argus expects a $5 billion to $7 billion revenue for the company in 2022 based on business opportunities.

Robyn Karnauskas, an analyst at Truist, holds a Buy rating on shares of Merck & Company Inc. (NYSE:MRK) as of this November. The analyst also holds a $95 price target on the stock.

Merck & Company Inc.’s (NYSE:MRK) third quarter earnings report shows an EPS of $1.75, beating estimates by $0.20. The company’s revenue was $13.15 billion, up 4.80% year over year and beating estimates by $833.53 million. Merck & Company Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has also gained 11.34% in the past six months and 6.58% year to date.

Insider Monkey’s hedge fund data shows that 77 hedge funds held stakes in Merck & Company Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the third quarter of 2021. The total stake value was $4.6 billion. In the second quarter, 79 hedge funds held stakes in the company, worth about $5.3 billion.