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HEQT vs MRK: Dividend Comparison 2026

HEQT yields 1.27% · MRK yields 2.76%● Live data

vsPost on X →
After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled
🏆 MRK wins by $35.3K in total portfolio value
10 years
HEQT
HEQT
● Live price
1.27%
Share price
$31.38
Annual div
$0.40
5Y div CAGR
0%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$21.5K
Annual income
$138.45
Full HEQT calculator →
MRK
Merck & Co. Inc.
● Live price
2.76%
Share price
$120.31
Annual div
$3.32
5Y div CAGR
32.7%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$56.8K
Annual income
$9,798.13
Full MRK calculator →

Portfolio growth — HEQT vs MRK

📍 MRK pulled ahead of the other in Year 1

Annual dividend income

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Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

How each stock treated shareholders during the 3 biggest crises of the last 20 years

Crisis PeriodHEQTMRK
2008–2009
GFC
— No data— No data
2020 Q1–Q2
COVID
— No data— No data
2022 Q4
Rate Hike
— No data— No data
Based on dividend payment history. "Increased" = dividend grew during crisis. "Maintained" = held within 3%. "Cut" = reduced by more than 3%.
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Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, HEQT + MRK cover 0 of 12 monthsgood coverage

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
HEQT pays
MRK pays
Both pay
Neither
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Tax Bracket Optimizer

Which stock is actually better after tax? Adjust your rate to find out.

HEQT
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$108.35/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$117.68/yr
MRK
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$234.56/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$8,328.41/yr
At 15% tax rate, MRK beats the other by $8,210.73/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000
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Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of HEQT + MRK for your $10,000?

HEQT: 50%MRK: 50%
100% MRK50/50100% HEQT
Portfolio after 10yr
$39.1K
Annual income
$4,968.30/yr
Blended yield
12.69%
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Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on MRK right now

HEQT
No analyst data
MRK
Analyst Ratings
25
Buy
11
Hold
1
Sell
Consensus: Buy
Price Target
$128.54
+6.8% upside vs current
Range: $100.00 — $150.00
Altman Z
4.0
Piotroski
6/9
Analyst ratings via FMP. Altman Z-Score: >3.0 safe, 1.81–3.0 grey zone, <1.81 distress. Piotroski: 7–9 strong, 0–3 weak.
🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

HEQT buys
0
MRK buys
0
No recent congressional trades found for HEQT or MRK in the last 90 days.
STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →
MetricHEQTMRK
Forward yield1.27%2.76%
Annual dividend / share$0.40$3.32
Payout ratio50%50%
1-year div growth0%0%
5-year div CAGR0%32.7%
Portfolio after 10y$21.5K$56.8K
Annual income after 10y$138.45$9,798.13
Total dividends collected$1.3K$28.9K
Payment frequencyquarterlyquarterly
SectorStockHealthcare

Year-by-year: HEQT vs MRK ($10,000, DRIP)

YearHEQT PortfolioHEQT Income/yrMRK PortfolioMRK Income/yrGap
1← crossover$10,827$127.47$11,206$366.19$379.00MRK
2$11,714$128.99$12,650$502.35$936.00MRK
3$12,665$130.42$14,407$694.19$1.7KMRK
4$13,683$131.78$16,585$967.82$2.9KMRK
5$14,774$133.06$19,342$1,363.89$4.6KMRK
6$15,942$134.27$22,913$1,947.19$7.0KMRK
7$17,194$135.41$27,662$2,823.89$10.5KMRK
8$18,534$136.49$34,159$4,173.35$15.6KMRK
9$19,969$137.50$43,337$6,308.80$23.4KMRK
10$21,505$138.45$56,776$9,798.13$35.3KMRK

HEQT vs MRK: Complete Analysis 2026

HEQTStock

The Simplify Hedged Equity ETF (HEQT) seeks to provide capital appreciation by offering US large cap exposure while investing in a series of put-spread collars designed to serve as an equity hedge and help reduce volatility.Equities + put-spread collars have become a popular way to create more conservative, lower volatility equity investments. They allow upside market participation with downside hedges to help reduce risk. By deploying a ladder of collars that expire over 3 sequential months, the fund seeks to create a hedged equity experience that is additionally robust to rebalancing luck.

Full HEQT Calculator →

MRKHealthcare

Merck & Co., Inc. operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines. The Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and health management solutions and services, as well as digitally connected identification, traceability, and monitoring products. It serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, and government agencies; managed health care providers, such as health maintenance organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, and other institutions; and physicians and physician distributors, veterinarians, and animal producers. The company has collaborations with AstraZeneca PLC; Bayer AG; Eisai Co., Ltd.; Ridgeback Biotherapeutics; and Gilead Sciences, Inc. to jointly develop and commercialize long-acting treatments in HIV. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey.

Full MRK Calculator →
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⚠️ Educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Congressional trades sourced from SEC STOCK Act filings via FMP. Past performance does not guarantee future results.