The record Coles dividend is being paid today. Here's the lowdown

Coles' largest-ever dividend is coming today. Here's how much it's worth.

Sebastian Bowen

Author Bio Sebastian Bowen has been a Motley Fool contributor since late 2018. Sebastian found his passion for writing and educating others about shares and all things finance after completing his studies in political, economic and social science and enjoys bringing this passion to life at the Fool. His investment philosophy is a simple one – buying high-quality companies at prices that make sense. When he’s not researching his next investment at all hours of the morning, Sebastian enjoys classic movies and likes to unwind with a good book, newspaper or record. Areas of Expertise Dividend investing ETFs Education Bachelor of Political, Economic, and Social Sciences (Government and International Relations), University of Sydney Social Media X/Twitter Favorite Investment Quote "In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine." – Benjamin Graham

Published March 30, 2023 7:30 am AEDT

Yesterday was a top day for the Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price. Coles finished the day up 0.45% at a flat $18 a share. That leaves its year-to-date performance at a healthy 9.36% for 2023 so far.

Today is also going to be a good day for Coles shareholders, no matter what the share price does. That's because today is payday for the Coles dividend.

Last month, Coles reported its half-year earnings for the six months to December 2022.

As we covered at the time, the ASX 200 grocery giant reported a 17.1% rise in net profit after tax (NPAT) to $643 million. This came with a 17.2% lift in earnings per share (EPS), up to 48.3 cents per share. This enabled Coles to announce an interim dividend of 36 cents per share, fully franked.

A man wearing glasses sits back in his desk chair with his hands behind his head staring smiling at his computer screens as the ASX share prices keep rising — Image source: Getty Images

Coles' biggest dividend ever is coming to a bank account near you

This payment is the highest dividend Coles has ever paid out in its four-and-a-bit years of ASX life. It represents a pleasing 9.09% rise over last year's interim dividend of 33 cents per share. Not to mention an even more impressive 20% increase over the inaugural interim dividend of 30 cents per share that we saw back in 2020.

With this latest dividend, Coles is on track to continue its trend of delivering annual dividend rises. The company paid out 57.5 cents per share in 2020, 61 cents per share in 2021, and 63 cents per share in 2023.

Eligibility for new investors for this dividend closed on 2 March when Coles traded ex-dividend.

But for those lucky investors who owned Coles shares before then, today is the day the dividend will be arriving in your bank account. Or else reinvested back into additional Coles shares if you've opted for the company's dividend reinvestment plan (DRP).

At the last Coles share price of $18, this divided, combined with last year's final payment, gives Coles a trailing dividend yield of 3.67%. That grosses up to 5.24% with the company's full franking credits.

Despite Coles' stellar year-to-date share price performance, this ASX 200 blue chip share remains up by just 0.22% over the past 12 months:

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