CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) shares first listed on the ASX way back on 8 June 1994.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index biotechnology company floated for $2.30 per share. But once we take share buybacks into account, the adjusted entry price works out to around 76 cents per share.
We won't go back quite that far.
But here's how much I'd have now if I'd invested $1,000 in CSL shares 24 years ago.
Invest in CSL shares like it's 1999
Investing with perfect hindsight is a wonderful thing.
While some companies have lost value or even collapsed since listing, you might be surprised how many ASX 200 shares have rocketed over the long term.
CSL shares certainly count among the winners.
Back on 16 April 1999, CSL closed the day trading for $4.23 per share.
That means I could have bought 236 shares with my $1,000 and had enough left over for a cup of 1999-priced coffee.
At the time of writing, CSL is trading for $304.31 per share.
If I opted to sell those 236 shares today they'd get me a whopping $71,817 and change.
In other words, the stock would have seen me gain 7,081% on my initial investment over 24 years, from share price appreciation alone.
Don't forget the dividends!
But let's not forget that CSL shares also have a lengthy track record of delivering dividends.
According to my calculations, the biotech company has paid out approximately $28 per share in dividends since April 1999. That's more than six times what I would have paid for those shares in 1999.
Assuming I didn't reinvest those dividends but simply tucked the cash under my mattress for a rainy day, I'd have earned some $6,608 in passive income from my 236 shares.
Adding that in, my total gains on that $1,000 investment in 1999 have leapt to an eye-popping 7,742%.
Granted, inflation over that period will have cut those gains roughly in half in real terms.
But still, try getting that kind of yield from your bank!
