Sure there are a lot of ASX dividend shares on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) to choose from. There are the big banks like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA). Then there are the mining giants like BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP). Other dividend investors look to blue-chips like Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS), or Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) for income. But dividend-paying ASX healthcare shares?
Traditionally, the healthcare space is not one where many investors traditionally search for income. The market's largest healthcare share is CSL Limited (ASX: CSL). But even though CSL shares have fallen more than 8% this year so far, the company still has a dividend yield under 1%.
But there is a healthcare share on the ASX that currently offers a fully franked dividend yield of over 4% right now. That would be Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL).
Medibank Private is the ASX's largest healthcare insurer. Many of us would know its flagship Medibank brand, as well as its AHM subsidiary.
Well, right now, Medibank Private shares offer a dividend yield of 4.06%. Since this yield comes fully franked too, it grosses up to a meaty 5.8% with those franking credits.
How do Medibank shares offer a 4% yield today?
Where does this yield come from? Well, Medibank's last two dividend payments. The company paid out its interim dividend for FY2022 last month This was a payment of 6.2 cents per share, a healthy rise on the previous interim dividend of 5.8 cents per share. Before that, Medibank doled out a final dividend of 6.9 cents per share in September last year. Again, that was an increase on its 2020 final payment of 6.3 cents per share.
Medibank actually had a bit of a streak going before COVID. From its first ever dividend in 2015, Medibank gave its investors an annual dividend pay raise every year until 2019. 2019 saw the company payout 15.6 cents per share in dividends, but this was reduced to 12 cents in 2020 largely thanks to the effects of the pandemic. 2021 saw the company begin to increase its shareholder payouts once again, which it has continued to do in 2022 so far.
So that's how we get to a 4.06% yield for Medibank shares today. Not too common for an ASX healthcare share at all.
At the current Medibank Private share price, this ASX 200 healthcare share has a market capitalisation of $8.81 billion.
