Covered, compounding — a 70-year Dividend King. A 0.91% yield on a 28.09% trailing payout is well covered: $2.00 a quarter, raised in 2026 from $1.80, extending 70 consecutive fiscal years of increases — one of the longest streaks in the market. The yield looks small only because the price has compounded; the per-share payout has done the same for decades.
Key risk: Price, not payout — at a premium multiple, the dividend case is sound but the entry price carries the risk; a cyclical industrial downturn would test earnings before it tested the payout.
Changes if: The trailing payout pushes well past 28.09%, or the 70-year run of increases breaks. Either would be a genuine break in one of the market’s longest records.
- ✓Payout-coverage check: 28.09% of trailing earnings — $8.00 indicated against an $880.57 close on Oct. 23, 2026. Well covered, with most earnings retained.
- !Yield check: 0.91% indicated — $2.00/qtr × 4 at the $880.57 close on Oct. 23, 2026. Real and earned, but low: a growth record, not current income.
- ✓Dividend growth check: 70 consecutive fiscal years of increases, with 305 consecutive quarterly dividends paid; the latest raise lifted the quarterly dividend from $1.80 to $2.00 in 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.