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NS vs MRK: Dividend Comparison 2026

NS yields 7.29% · MRK yields 2.81%● Live data

vsPost on X →
After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled
🏆 MRK wins by $31.4K in total portfolio value· pulled ahead in Year 3
10 years
NS
NS
● Live price
7.29%
Share price
$21.96
Annual div
$1.60
5Y div CAGR
-11.4%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$26.3K
Annual income
$287.71
Full NS calculator →
MRK
Merck & Co. Inc.
● Live price
2.81%
Share price
$118.10
Annual div
$3.32
5Y div CAGR
32.7%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$57.7K
Annual income
$10,113.78
Full MRK calculator →

Portfolio growth — NS vs MRK

📍 MRK pulled ahead of the other in Year 3

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 PeriodNSMRK
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, NS + MRK cover 0 of 12 monthsgood coverage

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
NS pays
MRK pays
Both pay
Neither
💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

NS
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$619.31/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$244.55/yr
MRK
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$238.95/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$8,596.71/yr
At 15% tax rate, MRK beats the other by $8,352.16/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000
⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

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

NS: 50%MRK: 50%
100% MRK50/50100% NS
Portfolio after 10yr
$42.0K
Annual income
$5,200.74/yr
Blended yield
12.37%
📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on MRK right now

NS
Analyst Ratings
6
Buy
13
Hold
3
Sell
Consensus: Hold
Price Target
$20.25
-7.8% upside vs current
Range: $19.50 — $21.00
Altman Z
1.0
Piotroski
4/9
MRK
Analyst Ratings
24
Buy
12
Hold
1
Sell
Consensus: Buy
Price Target
$128.54
+8.8% 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)

NS buys
8
MRK buys
8
PoliticianChamberTickerTypeAmountDate
Josh Gottheimer🏢 House$MRK▲ Buy$1,001 - $15,0002026-02-04
Michael McCaul🏢 House$MRK▼ Sell$15,001 - $50,0002026-01-13
Gilbert Cisneros🏢 House$MRK▲ Buy$1,001 - $15,0002025-12-19
Julie Johnson🏢 House$MRK▼ Sell$1,001 - $15,0002025-12-18
Julie Johnson🏢 House$MRK▼ Sell$1,001 - $15,0002025-11-13
Ro Khanna🏢 House$MRK▼ Sell$1,001 - $15,0002025-09-29
Val Hoyle🏢 House$MRK▼ Sell$1,001 - $15,0002025-09-23
Marjorie Taylor Greene🏢 House$MRK▲ Buy$1,001 - $15,0002025-08-28
Julie Johnson🏢 House$MRK▼ Sell$1,001 - $15,0002025-08-14
Gilbert Cisneros🏢 House$MRK▲ Buy$1,001 - $15,0002025-08-05
STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →
MetricNSMRK
Forward yield7.29%2.81%
Annual dividend / share$1.60$3.32
Payout ratio50%50%
1-year div growth0%0%
5-year div CAGR-11.4%32.7%
Portfolio after 10y$26.3K$57.7K
Annual income after 10y$287.71$10,113.78
Total dividends collected$4.6K$29.8K
Payment frequencyquarterlyquarterly
SectorStockHealthcare
Analyst consensusHoldBuy
Analyst price target$20.25$128.54

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

YearNS PortfolioNS Income/yrMRK PortfolioMRK Income/yrGap
1$11,346$645.54$11,213$373.04+$133.00NS
2$12,746$606.45$12,667$512.06+$79.00NS
3← crossover$14,203$564.16$14,439$708.14$236.00MRK
4$15,717$520.52$16,640$988.16$923.00MRK
5$17,294$476.98$19,432$1,394.07$2.1KMRK
6$18,940$434.59$23,057$1,992.90$4.1KMRK
7$20,660$394.09$27,889$2,894.79$7.2KMRK
8$22,462$355.95$34,518$4,286.29$12.1KMRK
9$24,354$320.45$43,912$6,494.35$19.6KMRK
10$26,347$287.71$57,714$10,113.78$31.4KMRK

NS vs MRK: Complete Analysis 2026

NSStock

NuStar Energy L.P. engages in the terminalling, storage, and marketing of petroleum products in the United States and internationally. The company also engages in the transportation of petroleum products and anhydrous ammonia. It operates through three segments: Pipeline, Storage, and Fuels Marketing. The Pipeline segment transports refined products, crude oil, and anhydrous ammonia. The Storage segment owns terminal and storage facilities, which offer storage, handling, and other services for petroleum products, crude oil, specialty chemicals, renewable fuels, and other liquids; and pilotage, tug assistance, line handling, launch, emergency response, and other ship services. The Fuels Marketing segment is involved in bunkering operations in the Gulf Coast; blending operations; and purchase of petroleum products for resale. As of December 31, 2021, it had 3,205 miles of refined product pipelines and 2,230 miles of crude oil pipelines in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico; a 2,050-mile refined product pipeline originating in southern Kansas and terminating at Jamestown, North Dakota; a 450-mile refined product pipeline originating at Marathon Petroleum Corporation's Mandan, North Dakota refinery and terminating in Minneapolis, Minnesota; a 2,000-mile anhydrous ammonia pipeline; and 29 terminal and storage facilities, which offer approximately 44.2 million barrels of storage capacity. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

Full NS 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.