ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares are having a tough start to the week.
In afternoon trade, the banking giant's shares are down almost 3% to $35.77.
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Why are ANZ shares down today?
The weakness in the ANZ share price is being driven primarily by the bank trading ex-dividend for its latest shareholder payout.
This means investors buying ANZ shares from today onwards will not be entitled to receive the upcoming interim dividend.
As a result, the share price will often fall by roughly the value of the dividend on the ex-dividend date, all else being equal.
What does ex-dividend mean?
When a company declares a dividend, it sets a record date to determine which shareholders are eligible to receive the payment.
The ex-dividend date is the first trading day when new buyers are no longer entitled to that dividend.
Because that dividend entitlement has effectively been removed from the share, the market commonly adjusts the share price lower on the ex-dividend date.
This does not necessarily mean investors are reacting negatively to the business itself. It is just that a dividend forms part of a company's valuation. And investors don't want to pay for something that they won't receive.
The ANZ dividend
Last week, ANZ released its half-year results for the six months ended 31 March 2026.
The bank reported statutory profit of $3.65 billion and cash profit of $3.78 billion for the half. Cash profit was up 70% on the second half of FY25, or up 14% when excluding the impact of significant items.
ANZ also reported a Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 12.39% at 31 March, up from 12.03% at 30 September 2025.
In light of the strong performance, the ANZ board declared an interim dividend of 83 cents per share. This payout is 75% franked, which is up from 70% previously.
ANZ said the increased franking level was supported by an improvement in the performance of its Australian operations.
When is payday?
Eligible ANZ shareholders won't have long to wait until payday.
They can look forward to receiving the interim dividend in around seven weeks on 1 July.
After which, the consensus estimate is for a partially franked final dividend of 85 cents per share later this year.
That will bring its total dividends to $1.68 per share for FY 2026.
