The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is off to the races this morning as the Australian share market starts the week off on a strong footing. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has gained a healthy 0.7%, lifting the index back over to 7,360 points. But let's talk about the Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) share price.
Transurban shares are doing even better than the broader market right now. This ASX 200 toll road operator is having a top morning, currently enjoying a market-beating gain of 0.8%. That lifts the Transurban share price to $15.11 right now, just a whisker off the company's 52-week high of $15.23.
This encouraging performance comes after Transurban made a major announcement to investors this morning.
Just before market open, Transurban gave shareholders a dividend distribution guidance upgrade for FY2023.
This would be big news for any ASX 200 share. But Transurban is a popular share amongst income investors, thanks to its sturdy history of dividend payouts. Let's check out what all the fuss is about.
Tolling the cat: dividend pay rise coming to investors
Transurban has announced that "the FY23 distribution is expected to be 58.0 cents per stapled security". The company pointed out that this figure would represent a 41.5% increase on the 41 cents per share that investors enjoyed over FY2022. It also comes in at 1 cent per share above the previous guidance investors were given.
Transurban shareholders have already welcomed an interim dividend of 26.5 cents per share that the company paid out back on 13 February. That means that investors can expect the August final dividend for FY2023 to come in at 31.5 cents per share under this guidance.
Investors now seem to be in line for an FY2023 payout that is higher than what was previously expected. As such, it's perhaps no surprise that the Transurban share price is getting a major boost this Monday.
If the company is on the money when it comes to its dividend guidance, it would give the Transurban share price a forward dividend yield of 3.84% today.
Transurban share price snapshot
Transurban shares have had a stellar year in 2023 so far. This ASX 200 toll road company is now up 18.3% year to date. Over the past 12 months, Transurban shares have gained just over 5%:
At the current Transurban share price, this ASX 200 blue chip share has a trailing dividend yield of 3.47%.
