Is UNPLF or MRK a better dividend investment in 2026?

UNPLF currently yields 6.10% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. MRK yields 2.76% with 8.2% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: UNPLF offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between UNPLF and MRK?

UNPLF has a forward dividend yield of 6.10% ($0.18/share annually). MRK yields 2.76% ($3.32/share annually). The yield gap is 3.34 percentage points.

Home › Compare › UNPLF vs MRK

UNPLF vs MRK: Dividend Comparison 2026

UNPLF yields 6.10% · MRK yields 2.76%● Live data

vsPost on X →

After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled

🏆 UNPLF wins by $19498.46M in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

UNPLF

● Live price

6.10%

Share price

$2.95

Annual div

$0.18

5Y div CAGR

100%

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$19498.52M

Annual income

$18,903,368,625.70

Full UNPLF 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 — UNPLF vs MRK

📍 UNPLF pulled ahead of the other in Year 1

Annual dividend income

🛡️

Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

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

Crisis Period	UNPLF	MRK
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, UNPLF + MRK cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

UNPLF pays

MRK pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

UNPLF

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$518.64/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$16,067,863,331.85/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, UNPLF beats the other by $16,067,855,003.43/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 UNPLF + MRK for your $10,000?

UNPLF: 50%MRK: 50%

100% MRK50/50100% UNPLF

Portfolio after 10yr

$9749.29M

Annual income

$9,451,689,211.92/yr

Blended yield

96.95%

📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on MRK right now

UNPLF

No analyst data

Altman Z

0.5

Piotroski

6/9

MRK

Analyst Ratings

Buy

Hold

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)

UNPLF buys

MRK buys

No recent congressional trades found for UNPLF or MRK in the last 90 days.

STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →

MetricUNPLFMRK

Forward yield	6.10% ✓	2.76%
Annual dividend / share	$0.18	$3.32 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	100% ✓	32.7%
Portfolio after 10y	$19498.52M ✓	$56.8K
Annual income after 10y	$18,903,368,625.70 ✓	$9,798.13
Total dividends collected	$19457.32M ✓	$28.9K
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	Stock	Healthcare

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

Year	UNPLF Portfolio	UNPLF Income/yr	MRK Portfolio	MRK Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$11,920	$1,220.34	$11,206	$366.19	+$714.00 → UNPLF
2	$15,474	$2,719.04	$12,650	$502.35	+$2.8K → UNPLF
3	$23,154	$6,597.36	$14,407	$694.19	+$8.7K → UNPLF
4	$43,227	$18,452.33	$16,585	$967.82	+$26.6K → UNPLF
5	$110,644	$64,390.98	$19,342	$1,363.89	+$91.3K → UNPLF
6	$426,453	$308,063.93	$22,913	$1,947.19	+$403.5K → UNPLF
7	$2,675,673	$2,219,368.24	$27,662	$2,823.89	+$2.65M → UNPLF
8	$28,890,749	$26,027,778.76	$34,159	$4,173.35	+$28.86M → UNPLF
9	$556,215,077	$525,301,975.20	$43,337	$6,308.80	+$556.17M → UNPLF
10	$19,498,518,758	$18,903,368,625.70	$56,776	$9,798.13	+$19498.46M → UNPLF

UNPLF vs MRK: Complete Analysis 2026

UNPLF — Stock

UnipolSai Assicurazioni S.p.A. operates as an insurance company in Italy. The company operates through Non-Life insurance business, Life insurance business, Real Estate business, and Other Businesses segments. It provides non-life insurance products and services in the areas of motor vehicle third-party liabilities (TPL); sea, lake, and river; land vehicle hulls; accident and health; fire and other damage to property; general TPL; and other products. The company also offers life insurance products and services, such as whole and term life insurance, unit linked/indexed link policies, health, capitalization insurance, and pension funds. In addition, it engages in the reinsurance, real estate management, hotel, agricultural, and healthcare business. The company is based in Bologna, Italy. UnipolSai Assicurazioni S.p.A. is a subsidiary of Unipol Gruppo SpA.

Full UNPLF Calculator →

MRK — Healthcare

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.