Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares closed up 1.11% yesterday, trading for $125.48 apiece.
That sees shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank stock up an impressive 30% since this time last year, not including the two fully franked dividends eligible shareholders will have received.
And it sees Australia's biggest bank commanding a market cap of $210 billion.
Now investors who've listened to the chorus of bearish analyst views on the valuation of CBA shares may have been spooked into selling their holdings and missed out on some of those outsized gains.
Investors who've kept their long-term goals in mind and held onto shares, on the other hand, should be sitting pretty.
How pretty?
Let's dig in.
500 CBA shares at 2014 prices please
One year ago, on 13 June 2014, I could have snapped up CBA shares for $81.39 apiece.
Meaning my 500 shares would have set me back an even $40,695.
A tidy sum, to be sure. But an investment that would have paid off in spades.
At yesterday's closing price of $125.48 a share, my 500 shares would now be worth an even $62,740.
That equates to a 54.17% gain on my initial investment.
Not bad.
But let's not forget the dividends.
Why passive income investors like CommBank stock
CBA shares have long been a favourite among passive income investors.
That's because the big four bank has a lengthy track record of paying two annual, fully franked dividends a year. A record that reaches back more than a decade. And one that includes the pandemic addled year of 2020.
If I'd bought CommBank stock on 13 June 2014, I would have been eligible to receive the $2.18 final dividend. That welcome passive income would have hit my bank account on 2 October 2014.
I would then also have received 19 more dividend payouts to date.
Turning to my trusty calculator, that works out to a total 10-year payout of $40.47 per CBA share. With some potential tax benefits from those franking credits.
Now, I'd likely have done better by reinvesting those dividends as they came in.
But we'll assume I spent that passive income on some extra little luxuries instead.
So, we'll just add that $40.47 in dividends into yesterday's closing share price of $125.48, which brings the accumulated value of my CBA shares bought 10 years ago to $165.95.
Meaning my 500 shares, purchased for $40,695, would now be worth an accumulated $82,975.
That represents a gain of 103.90%.
Happy investing!
