It's a fantastic day to be an owner of the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS). And not just because this popular exchange-traded fund (ETF) is enjoying a healthy 0.45% rise so far this Tuesday, putting the fund at $87.24 a unit.
No, it's a great day to own VAS units because today is the day that this index fund's latest dividend distribution hits investors' bank accounts.
Unlike most ASX shares, VAS pays out a dividend distribution every quarter. The latest payment covers the three months to 30 September.
Earlier this month, we warned investors that the latest dividend distribution from the Vanguard Australian Shares ETF was on its way. The last day ASX investors could buy VAS units with the entitlement to this latest dividend attached was on 1 October, with the ETF trading ex-distribution a day later.
That means anyone who owned VAS units as of 1 October is eligible to receive this partially-franked dividend distribution. But anyone who bought the shares on 2 October onwards misses out this time.
If you are one of those lucky investors who qualify for this latest payment, you probably would have already seen the cash hit your bank or brokerage account today.
But just how much cash are we talking about?
How much is the latest VAS distribution worth to ASX dividend investors?
Well, this latest dividend distribution will be worth 128.8137 cents per unit. That's a big rise over the previous dividend distribution that this ETF paid out. That was the distribution worth 89 cents per share that we saw for the quarter ending 30 June.
However, it doesn't quite match last year's September quarter payment, which was worth 145 cents per share.
Together with the June quarter's distribution worth 88.9 cents per share, the March quarter's 57.7 cents per unit, and last year's December quarter payment of 74.97 cents, VAS units now have a trailing annual distribution of $3.50 per unit.
That gives the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF a trailing dividend distribution yield of 4.02% at the current unit price.
