Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares have continued their steep ascent today, climbing a further 60c or 0.72% to be trading at $83.72. Earlier in the session, they rose as high as $83.92, which is a new all-time high for the bank's shares.
Over the last 12 months, the stock has jumped 12.8% while they are up 19.4% since hitting a 52-week low of $70.12 in August last year. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) index is up 11.6% for the year.
Although the bank is widely regarded as being excessively priced, investors continue to trend towards the stock, perhaps due to its strong upward momentum and solid dividend yield. It is expected to distribute 418.9 cents per share as a dividend for the 2015 financial year, putting it on a yield of 5% fully franked. Grossed up, that's a 7.1% dividend yield.
Investors are likely also excited by the prospects of official interest rates falling even further. While they are stuck at 2.5% currently, the strong Aussie dollar could force the Reserve Bank's hand to drop them as low as 2.25%. This would likely result in an increase in mortgage lending activity for Commonwealth Bank and each of its peers.
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