Covered, compounding. A 2.56% yield on a 36.49% trailing payout is well covered and still compounding — $1.15 a quarter, raised from $1.00 in July 2026, extending 12 years of increases in the dividend history. Wealth management earnings give the payout a steadier base than a pure trading house.
Key risk: Markets-sensitive revenue — wealth and investment banking fees fall with asset values and deal activity, so a market slump compresses the earnings behind the payout.
Changes if: The trailing payout pushes well past 36.49% in a prolonged market slump, or the dividend stops growing. Payout coverage is the tripwire here.
- ✓Payout-coverage check: 36.49% trailing payout ratio — comfortably covered, with most earnings retained.
- ✓Yield check: 2.56% indicated — $1.15/qtr × 4 at the $179.49 close on Oct. 23, 2026. Real, earned yield, not a special or a return of capital.
- ✓Dividend growth check: 12 years of increases in the dividend history; the latest raise lifted the quarterly dividend from $1.00 to $1.15 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.