Covered, still growing — slowly. A 1.56% yield on a 29.3% trailing payout is covered with room to spare: $1.72 a quarter, declared October 21, 2026 and payable December 18, 2026. Growth has slowed to a crawl — the 2026 annual rate of $6.88 is only slightly above 2025's $6.84 — but it has not stopped, and the payout leaves most earnings retained.
Key risk: Government-program margins — Medicaid and Medicare costs are what would pressure the earnings behind the 29.3% payout.
Changes if: Trailing payout rises well above 29.3%, or the annual rate is held flat.
- ✓Payout-coverage check: 29.3% of trailing earnings — a wide cushion; most earnings stay retained.
- ✓Yield check: 1.56% indicated — $1.72/qtr × 4 at the $439.95 close on Oct. 23, 2026. Real, earned cash dividend, not return of capital.
- !Dividend growth check: Raised only slightly in 2026 — the $6.88 annual rate is barely above 2025's $6.84, so compounding has slowed even though it has not stopped.
What this grade doesn't say: It screens the dividend only — covered, real, compounding. It says nothing about valuation or price: a well-covered payer can still be overpriced, and its price can still fall.