If you're wanting to receive the next Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) dividend, then you will have to get a wriggle on.
That's because the banking giant's shares will soon be going ex-dividend for its interim payout.
When a share goes ex-dividend, it means the rights to the forthcoming payment are settled.
So, even if you were to buy CBA shares on that date, the dividend wouldn't end up in your bank account. Instead, it would go to the seller of its shares, even though they no longer own them.
The CBA dividend
Last week, CBA released its half-year results and reported a 0.2% lift in operating income to $13,649 million and a 3% decline in cash net profit after tax to $5,019 million. The latter was driven by a combination of margin compression and higher operating expenses.
However, despite the falling profits, the CBA board elected to increase its interim dividend.
It declared a fully franked interim dividend of $2.15 per share, which was a 2.4% increase on last year's payout.
This lifted its payout ratio to 72% from 68% a year earlier. The bank notes that this gives a good portion of Australia a nice income boost. It commented:
We have increased our dividend payout ratio, improving shareholder returns and benefitting more than 12 million Australians who own CBA shares either directly or through their superannuation holdings.
Ex-dividend date approaches
CBA shares will go ex-dividend for this payout on Wednesday 21 February.
This means that you need to own its shares before the close of play on Tuesday if you want to receive it.
As things stand, CBA intends to make its payment in a little over a month on Thursday 28 March, just before the Good Friday public holiday.
