The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price is down slightly in morning trade, as is generally the case on the day a company pays its dividend to shareholders. Macquarie shares are currently trading for $137.96, a dip of 0.10% on yesterday's closing price.
How much will Macquarie shares pay today?
Macquarie will pay a 250 cents per share (cps) distribution to shareholders, franked to 40%.
The Aussie wealth manager and banking group is yielding 4.42% per annum right now.
That's lower than the Big Four banks but still a very handy yield by ASX 200 standards.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) will also pay its dividend to shareholders today. ANZ will pay 80 cents per share, franked to 70%, which equates to a 6.38% net yield.
However, Macquarie does offer some benefits that the Big Four cannot, so should you be buying in 2020?
Why Macquarie shares could be in the buy zone
One of the big things Macquarie has going for it versus the Big Four is its lack of retail banking.
The Big Four banks were hit hard by the 2018 Financial Services Royal Commission. In contrast, Macquarie sailed through relatively unscathed and has been going strong ever since.
Macquarie shares have rocketed 29.25% higher since the start of 2019 and 138.84% in the last 5 years.
In contrast, the Big Four banks are yielding more but have either seen share price declines or minor gains.
The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price has been hit by the AUSTRAC allegations this year.
The Aussie bank has reportedly breached anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws 23 million times.
That's put the bank's shares under pressure, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd (ASX: CBA) and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) have their own issues.
Commonwealth Bank has reportedly underpaid 41,000 current and former staff by $17 million. And just yesterday afternoon, NAB was hit with civil proceedings by ASIC for its "fee for no service" dealings.
Foolish takeaway
All in all, Macquarie has managed to stay out of the headlights, so while you may not be getting the same dividend yield, Macquarie shares have offered capital and operational stability in 2019.
