Today (11 July) is a reminder why many people own FTSE 100 shares. That’s because four of the UK’s largest listed companies are paying their final dividends today.
According to JP Morgan, the London Stock Exchange offers a higher yield than the US, Europe and other emerging markets. And it’s the FTSE 100 where some of the most generous dividends can be earned.
The average for the index is currently 3.49%. However, two of the quartet making payments today offer a lower yield.
Mean
When JD Sports Fashion’s final dividend of 0.67p is added to its interim payout of 0.33p, it brings the total amount for its February 2025 financial year to 1p. Based on a current share price of just under 90p, this implies a disappointing yield of 1.1%.
The leisure retailer’s increased its payout every year since the pandemic though.
A bit better
Informa is probably one of the Footsie’s lesser-known members. The digital services and academic publishing group is due to make its final payment of 13.6p today.
Based on the full-year payment of 20p, the stock’s currently yielding 2.4%. Again, a little frugal.
But shareholders have been rewarded in another way. The group’s share price has risen 90% over the past five years.
Now we’re talking!
The other two stocks offer much more generous payouts.
Prior to the pandemic, Persimmon established a reputation for returning nearly all of its profit to shareholders each year. At its peak, it paid 235p as share.
Today, it will pay a final dividend of 40p. When added to its interim dividend of 20p — giving a final payout for 2024 of 60p — it’s a reminder how much the housebuilder’s suffered from a downturn in the market. It also tells us that payouts are never guaranteed.
However, despite the cut, the stock’s still yielding 4.9%.
Another high-yielder
Finally, this brings us to J Sainsbury (LSE:SBRY).
Today’s dividend will bring its total payout for the 52 weeks ended 1 March 2025 (FY25) to 13.6p. That’s a 3.8% increase on the three previous years.
It’s been able to do this because it had a strong FY25 with underlying retail sales (excluding fuel) increasing by 3.1% compared to FY24. Underlying retail operating profit was 7.2% higher. The group’s first-quarter FY26 trading update was also upbeat.
However, it’s worth keeping an eye on the grocer’s net debt (including lease liabilities) which increased by £204m over the course of the year. And competition remains fierce which is an ever-present threat to both its top line and margin.
But the grocer’s maintained its GB market share within a range of 14.8%-15.2% over the past five years. For this time of year, it’s at its highest level since 2016.
And, according to RBC Capital, it’s trading at a discount to the market leader, Tesco. It’s share price has also risen nearly 50% since July 2020. When it comes to value, the grocer’s customer satisfaction scores are at their highest ever.
These factors – along with its 4.8% yield – could make it worth considering.
I’m not sure how many people have one or more of these stocks in their portfolios. But for those who do, I think today’s payments are a welcome reminder of one of the benefits of owning FTSE 100 shares.
