If we were to rewind to May 2020, we would find the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price just beginning to lift off its COVID-19 low.
Stock in the mining giant bottomed out at $24.05 amid the onset of the pandemic, before rebounding to $34.64 by the end of May 2020.
That means an investor sinking $3,000 in the iron ore icon exactly three years ago would have walked away with 86 shares.
Today, that holding would be worth $3,676.50. The BHP share price last traded at $42.75 – 23% higher than it was back then.
For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has risen 24% in that time.
Meanwhile, BHP has been providing those who invested in its shares with consistent dividends. Let's dive into the passive income that someone who bought into the stock three years ago has likely realised.
Image source: Getty Images
All dividends BHP shares have provided since 2020
Here are all the dividends offered to those holding BHP shares since May 2020, rounded to the nearest cent:
| BHP dividends' pay date | Type | Dividend amount |
| March 2023 | Interim | $1.36 |
| September 2022 | Final | $2.55 |
| March 2022 | Interim | $2.08 |
| September 2021 | Final | $2.71 |
| March 2021 | Interim | $1.31 |
| September 2020 | Final | 75 cents |
| Total: | $10.76 |
As the above chart shows, each BHP share has provided $10.76 of dividend income over the last three years.
That leaves our figurative parcel having yielded $925.36 over its lifetime.
Considering both capital gains and dividend income, the ASX 200 mining giant has provided a total return on investment (ROI) of 54%. That's certainly nothing to scoff at!
Just imagine how that return might have been compounded if one were to have reinvested their dividends.
And that's before considering the franking credits offered alongside BHP's dividends. They might have brought extra benefits for some investors come tax time.
Right now, BHP shares offer a very respectable 9.16% dividend yield.
