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VBTIX vs MRK: Dividend Comparison 2026

VBTIX yields 3.62% · MRK yields 2.76%● Live data

vsPost on X →
After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled
🏆 MRK wins by $31.5K in total portfolio value
10 years
VBTIX
VBTIX
● Live price
3.62%
Share price
$9.68
Annual div
$0.35
5Y div CAGR
0%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$25.3K
Annual income
$456.49
Full VBTIX 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 — VBTIX 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 PeriodVBTIXMRK
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, VBTIX + MRK cover 0 of 12 monthsgood coverage

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

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

VBTIX
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$307.50/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$388.02/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 $7,940.39/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000
⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

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

VBTIX: 50%MRK: 50%
100% MRK50/50100% VBTIX
Portfolio after 10yr
$41.0K
Annual income
$5,127.32/yr
Blended yield
12.50%
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Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on MRK right now

VBTIX
No analyst data
Altman Z
1767.4
Piotroski
7/9
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)

VBTIX buys
0
MRK buys
0
No recent congressional trades found for VBTIX or MRK in the last 90 days.
STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →
MetricVBTIXMRK
Forward yield3.62%2.76%
Annual dividend / share$0.35$3.32
Payout ratio50%50%
1-year div growth0%0%
5-year div CAGR0%32.7%
Portfolio after 10y$25.3K$56.8K
Annual income after 10y$456.49$9,798.13
Total dividends collected$4.1K$28.9K
Payment frequencyquarterlyquarterly
SectorStockHealthcare

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

YearVBTIX PortfolioVBTIX Income/yrMRK PortfolioMRK Income/yrGap
1← crossover$11,062$361.77$11,206$366.19$144.00MRK
2$12,210$374.00$12,650$502.35$440.00MRK
3$13,451$385.82$14,407$694.19$956.00MRK
4$14,789$397.21$16,585$967.82$1.8KMRK
5$16,233$408.17$19,342$1,363.89$3.1KMRK
6$17,788$418.70$22,913$1,947.19$5.1KMRK
7$19,462$428.79$27,662$2,823.89$8.2KMRK
8$21,262$438.45$34,159$4,173.35$12.9KMRK
9$23,199$447.68$43,337$6,308.80$20.1KMRK
10$25,279$456.49$56,776$9,798.13$31.5KMRK

VBTIX vs MRK: Complete Analysis 2026

VBTIXStock

This fund is designed to provide broad exposure to U.S. investment-grade bonds. Reflecting this goal, the fund invests in U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities of all maturities (short-, intermediate-, and long-term issues). As with other bond funds, one of the risks of the fund is that increases in interest rates may cause the price of the bonds in the portfolio to decrease—pricing the fund’s net asset value (NAV) lower. Because the fund invests in several segments and maturities of the fixed income market, investors may consider the fund their core bond holding.

Full VBTIX 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.