HomeCompareVLIFX vs MRK

VLIFX vs MRK: Dividend Comparison 2026

VLIFX yields 2.30% · MRK yields 2.76%● Live data

vsPost on X →
After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled
🏆 MRK wins by $33.7K in total portfolio value
10 years
VLIFX
VLIFX
● Live price
2.30%
Share price
$31.87
Annual div
$0.73
5Y div CAGR
0%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$23.1K
Annual income
$266.21
Full VLIFX 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 — VLIFX 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 PeriodVLIFXMRK
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, VLIFX + MRK cover 0 of 12 monthsgood coverage

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
VLIFX 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.

VLIFX
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$195.10/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$226.28/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 $8,102.13/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000
⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

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

VLIFX: 50%MRK: 50%
100% MRK50/50100% VLIFX
Portfolio after 10yr
$39.9K
Annual income
$5,032.18/yr
Blended yield
12.60%
📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on MRK right now

VLIFX
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)

VLIFX buys
0
MRK buys
0
No recent congressional trades found for VLIFX or MRK in the last 90 days.
STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →
MetricVLIFXMRK
Forward yield2.30%2.76%
Annual dividend / share$0.73$3.32
Payout ratio50%50%
1-year div growth0%0%
5-year div CAGR0%32.7%
Portfolio after 10y$23.1K$56.8K
Annual income after 10y$266.21$9,798.13
Total dividends collected$2.5K$28.9K
Payment frequencyquarterlyquarterly
SectorStockHealthcare

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

YearVLIFX PortfolioVLIFX Income/yrMRK PortfolioMRK Income/yrGap
1← crossover$10,930$229.53$11,206$366.19$276.00MRK
2$11,929$234.45$12,650$502.35$721.00MRK
3$13,003$239.15$14,407$694.19$1.4KMRK
4$14,157$243.63$16,585$967.82$2.4KMRK
5$15,396$247.90$19,342$1,363.89$3.9KMRK
6$16,726$251.95$22,913$1,947.19$6.2KMRK
7$18,152$255.81$27,662$2,823.89$9.5KMRK
8$19,682$259.46$34,159$4,173.35$14.5KMRK
9$21,323$262.93$43,337$6,308.80$22.0KMRK
10$23,082$266.21$56,776$9,798.13$33.7KMRK

VLIFX vs MRK: Complete Analysis 2026

VLIFXStock

The fund invests substantially all of the fund's net assets in common stocks. Under normal circumstances, the Adviser invests at least 80% of the fund's assets in common stocks and other equity securities of mid-sized companies (the "80% Policy"). During the investment selection process, the Adviser performs fundamental and quantitative analysis on each company and utilizes the rankings of companies by the Value Line Timeliness™ Ranking System (the "Ranking System") to assist in selecting securities for purchase.

Full VLIFX 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.