Despite taking a steep tumble at the onset of the global pandemic, Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) shares continued to deliver regular passive income to ASX investors.
Indeed, the diversified S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) financial stock has delivered two, partly franked dividends every year since 2013.
Like almost every listed company, Macquarie shares took a big hit when COVID-19 struck. The stock fell 47% from 21 February to 27 March 2020.
On 27 March, you could have bought Macquarie stock at an intraday trading price of $80.00 per share. (The stock closed the day at $80.01 per share.)
But, short-term share price pain aside, the passive income kept flowing to eligible shareholders.
With that in mind, here's how much dividend income brave, lucky, or exceptionally well-advised investors will have made from an $8,000 investment in Macquarie on the heels of the pandemic crash.
(Note, all dividend payments in recent years are 40% franked.)
How much passive income have Macquarie shares delivered since March 2020?
Although dividends were scaled back significantly in 2020, as you'd expect, Macquarie still paid out a final dividend of $1.80 per share and an interim dividend of $1.35 per share.
If you'd bought shares on 27 March 2020, you would have been eligible for both payouts.
And with $8,000 you could have bought an even 100 shares.
Now, we'll assume you have no intention of selling those shares. Which is good. Because atop the steady passive income stream, Macquarie shares have gained 122% since the March 2020 lows.
Atop watching the share price march higher over the following three years, you would have received five more dividend payouts.
In calendar year 2021, Macquarie declared a final dividend of $3.35 per share and an interim dividend of $2.72 per share.
In 2022, the financial stock paid a final dividend of $3.50 per share and an interim dividend of $3.00 per share.
And in 2023, passive income investors were rewarded with an all-time high final dividend of $4.50 per share, following on a heady $5.2 billion in full-year profits for the company. If you own shares, you'll have seen that payout land in your bank account yesterday.
Adding up the figures, this works out to a total of $20.22 per Macquarie share in dividends paid out since the financial stock hit its pandemic lows.
Meaning your $8,000 investment will have returned $2,022 in passive income in a little over three years, with some potential tax benefits.
