Covered, compounding. A 2.28% yield on a 27.34% trailing payout is well covered and still compounding — $5.00 a quarter, raised from $4.50 in July 2026, extending 14 years of increases in the dividend history. The low payout leaves ample room for further raises even if deal and trading revenue cools.
Key risk: Deal and trading cyclicality — investment banking and markets revenue swings with the cycle, so earnings can fall faster than the dividend.
Changes if: The trailing payout pushes well past 27.34% in a prolonged deal drought, or the dividend stops growing. Payout coverage is the tripwire here.
- ✓Payout-coverage check: 27.34% trailing payout ratio — low, leaving most earnings retained for growth and buybacks.
- ✓Yield check: 2.28% indicated — $5.00/qtr × 4 at the $875.68 close on Oct. 23, 2026. Real, earned yield, not a special or a return of capital.
- ✓Dividend growth check: 14 years of increases in the dividend history; the latest raise lifted the quarterly dividend from $4.50 to $5.00 in July 2026.
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.