Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF Sees Outflows Amid Steady Performance

Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF ( $SCHD ) has risen by 0.07% in the past week. It has experienced a 5-day net outflow of $917.43 million.
This is due, in part, to market sentiment on some of the ETF’s largest holdings. For example:

• Bristol-Myers Squibb Company drew fresh analyst attention this week, with Bernstein’s Courtney Breen reaffirming a Hold rating and the shares recently trading around $54.19. Despite near-term caution, the broader Wall Street view remains a Moderate Buy, with a consensus price target of about $53.93, implying only around 1% upside from current levels. The muted upside signals that analysts see Bristol-Myers as a steady large-cap healthcare name rather than a high-growth play, with investors likely watching for pipeline progress or strategic moves to unlock more value.
• Merck & Company continues to be framed as a high-quality but somewhat underappreciated pharma giant, underpinned by its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, a strong R&D pipeline, and solid patent protection. The stock has periodically traded below perceived fair value amid ongoing worries about drug pricing, regulation, and patent expirations, yet analysts generally think these risks are manageable. Bernstein’s Courtney Breen maintained a Hold rating with the shares near $101.09, while the broader analyst consensus is a Moderate Buy and a $116.38 average target, pointing to roughly 16% upside as investors look for Merck’s newer therapies to drive growth into the late 2020s.
• Lockheed Martin secured a major win with a $10 billion expansion of its U.S. Air Force C-130J contract, lifting the total program value to about $25 billion and extending work through 2035, including sales to multiple U.S. allies. However, the stock remains under pressure as margin issues, cost overruns, and concerns over emerging defense technologies and F-35 demand have led firms like JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley to downgrade the shares to Hold and cut price targets, with Morgan Stanley now at $543. Wall Street’s overall view is also a Hold, and while the average target of roughly $524.93 implies about 9% upside, investors are weighing strong long-term defense demand against weaker growth, cash-flow headwinds, and competitive threats.