It's been a rather pleasant day of trading for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) so far this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up a pleasing 0.34% or so at just under 7,600 points. But that sentiment is seemingly not filtering through to the Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL), or Soul Patts, share price.
Soul Patts shares are currently well in the red today, despite the green of the broader market. At the present time, this ASX 200 conglomerate is trading at $28.55 each, a good 0.87% down from the $28.82 price the company closed at yesterday.
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Soul Patts share price falls as company trades ex-dividend
So why are Soul Patts shares underperforming the market so convincingly today? Well, the answer is simpler and more pleasant than one might think. Today marks the occasion of Soul Patts' latest ex-dividend date. Yes, the company has just traded ex-dividend for its upcoming interim shareholder payment.
This means that from today, no new Soul Patts investors are eligible to receive the company's latest dividend. Because this payment is now effectively lost for new investors, its value has left the Soul Patts share price. That is almost certainly why we are seeing the company's shares seemingly bucking the markets today.
Any investor who bought into Soul Patts before today's trading though can look forward to the company's latest interim dividend, which will be paid out on 13 May. This dividend will be worth 29 cents a share, fully franked.
This represents a healthy 11.5% rise on last year's interim dividend of 26 cents per share. But this might not come as a surprise to any long-term investor in Soul Patts. This company is famous for its two-decade-long streak of giving investors an annual dividend pay rise. Indeed, Soul Patts has been increasing its annual dividend like clockwork every year since 2000.
At the current Soul Patts share price, this ASX 200 share has a dividend yield of 2.28%.
