It is common to see ASX dividend shares on our market with six-month intervals between shareholder paycheques. In fact, that's the norm. Far less common, but still easily found, are quarterly dividend stocks that send out cash to investors every three months. But monthly dividend payers? That is a rare ASX species indeed.
We could even say monthly dividend shares are as rare as hens' teeth. That would be misleading, though, as they actually do exist.
Most of these aren't worth bothering with, at least in my opinion. But there's one that I own in my personal stock portfolio, and that I regard as a cash flow machine. This particular stock spent most of last year trading on a dividend yield north of 5%, although you can only buy shares today on a yield of 4.82%.
This stock is none other than Plato Income Maximiser Ltd (ASX: PL8).
Plato Income Maximiser is a listed investment company (LIC) that specialises in providing monthly dividend cash flow. It does so by owning an underlying portfolio of the ASX's best dividend shares on behalf of its investors, and passing through the income it receives from said shares to shareholders through those regular dividends.
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An ASX dividend stock that pays you every month
As you might expect, Plato owns famous dividend payers like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and the other big four banks, BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS), and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS). But it also currently owns other income stocks like Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL), Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) and Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (ASX: HVN).
Over the past 12 months, Plato has doled out 12 dividends, each worth 0.55 cents per share. That annual total of 6.6 cents in dividends gives Plato shares that 4.82% yield we touched on earlier. That's at the current stock price of $1.37 that we see today.
Each of those monthly dividend payments also came with full franking credits attached too.
Normally, I don't go for investments that prioritise dividend income in my own portfolio, seeing as I'm (sadly) nowhere near being able to retire. However, I make an exception for Plato. For one, I enjoy the regular cash flow it gives me, which I can routinely direct into other ASX investments.
But more importantly, Plato has outperformed its ASX 200 benchmark over the past one, three, and five years (as of 30 April). Since its inception in 2017, Plato shares have averaged a return of 9.8% per annum (including those monthly dividends and franking).
So that's why this monthly cash flow machine finds a place in my portfolio today. I would recommend a look for anyone who wants to buff up their passive income in 2025.
