The Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price has underperformed the market over the last three years.
At this point of 2020, a $5,000 investment likely would have seen one boasting 317 shares in the supermarket operator, having paid $15.76 apiece.
That parcel would have been worth $5,617.24 as of the stock's most recent close. The Coles share price finished Tuesday's session at $17.72 – 12% higher than it was in June 2020.
Comparatively, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has risen 19% in that time.
But share price gains aren't the only thing our figurative investment has provided over its life. The company has also been handing shareholders biannual dividends.
All dividends paid to those holding Coles shares since 2020
Here are all the dividends Coles shares have provided over the last three years:
| Coles dividends' pay date | Type | Dividend amount |
| March 2023 | Interim | 36 cents |
| September 2022 | Final | 30 cents |
| March 2022 | Interim | 33 cents |
| September 2021 | Final | 28 cents |
| March 2021 | Interim | 33 cents |
| September 2020 | Final | 27.5 cents |
| Total: | $1.875 |
As the above chart shows, each Coles share has provided $1.875 of dividend income. That leaves our $5,000 parcel having yielded $594.375 over its life.
Considering both the passive income and the capital gains provided by the supermarket stock, an investor has likely realised a 24% return on investment (ROI).
And that might have been bolstered if one had used their dividends to buy more shares, thereby compounding their returns. Perhaps, by participating in the company's dividend reinvestment plan (DRP).
Not to mention, all the dividends ever paid to those invested in Coles shares have been fully franked. Thus, they might have brought extra benefits to some shareholders come tax time.
At the time of writing, stock in the supermarket favourite is trading with a 3.7% dividend yield.
