At the current National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) share price and Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price, the banks yield dividends of 6% and 4.8%, respectively. But they are not the only ASX shares offering top dividend yields.
Thanks to falls in the Mantra Group (ASX: MTR) share price and Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) share price, dividends have been boosted.
NAB
The $85 billion NAB is one of Australia's biggest banks, with a large share of the business banking market and home loans. NAB's history of returns is not as good as those of its peers, such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), because its overseas assets were hit hard by the Global Financial Crisis. Still, it has taken strides to remove those risky assets and focus on its local businesses.
Macquarie Group
Macquarie is the poster boy of what can go right when an Australian company expands overseas. Macquarie is Australia's best investment bank, but it also operates around the world. In addition to financing and investment banking activities, it has a growing retail bank (think: mortgages and household deposits).
Mantra Group
Mantra is Australia's second largest resorts and hotel operator. The Mantra share price has been crunched over the past 12 months because investors think its hotels will be badly damaged by the rise of Airbnb. Indeed, it could be damaged by the room-sharing service. But over the past 12 months, Mantra's share price has fallen 36%. Yet during the six months to 31 December 2016, Mantra reported a 15% increase in profit.
Magellan Financial Group
Like Macquarie — but to a lesser extent — Magellan is an example of how a local business can take on the world. Magellan is a fund manager based in Sydney. Thanks to strong performances from its Global fund, Magellan's funds under management has grown rapidly. Basically, the more funds it has to invest, the more fees it can earn. While growth in fees may be slower in coming years, it offers a healthy dividend of 3.3%.
Foolish Takeaway
If you are looking for four top ASX dividend shares to add to your watchlist, I think these companies are worthy of closer inspection. Indeed, they offer decent growth potential and dividends.
However, a word of caution: Three of these companies come from the finance industry, which can experience big swings in profit, share prices and dividends. Over the long-term they have proven to be winners, so — as always — remember share market investing is a long-term pursuit (five years or more).
