Looking at the universe of stocks we cover at Dividend Channel, on 2/23/23, AstraZeneca plc (Symbol: AZN), STERIS plc (Symbol: STE), and Baxter International Inc (Symbol: BAX) will all trade ex-dividend for their respective upcoming dividends. AstraZeneca plc will pay its semi-annual dividend of $0.985 on 3/27/23, STERIS plc will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.47 on 3/23/23, and Baxter International Inc will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.29 on 4/3/23. As a percentage of AZN's recent stock price of $69.86, this dividend works out to approximately 1.41%, so look for shares of AstraZeneca plc to trade 1.41% lower — all else being equal — when AZN shares open for trading on 2/23/23. Similarly, investors should look for STE to open 0.25% lower in price and for BAX to open 0.71% lower, all else being equal.
When an S&P 1500 component reaches 20 years of dividend increases, it becomes a contender to join the elite "Dividend Aristocrats" index. STERIS plc (Symbol: STE) is a "future dividend aristocrats contender," with 17+ years of increases.
Below are dividend history charts for AZN, STE, and BAX, showing historical dividends prior to the most recent ones declared.
AstraZeneca plc (Symbol: AZN):
STERIS plc (Symbol: STE):
Baxter International Inc (Symbol: BAX):
In general, dividends are not always predictable, following the ups and downs of company profits over time. Therefore, a good first due diligence step in forming an expectation of annual yield going forward, is looking at the history above, for a sense of stability over time. This can help in judging whether the most recent dividends from these companies are likely to continue. If they do continue, the current estimated yields on annualized basis would be 2.82% for AstraZeneca plc, 1.00% for STERIS plc, and 2.84% for Baxter International Inc.
In Tuesday trading, AstraZeneca plc shares are currently up about 1.3%, STERIS plc shares are down about 1.4%, and Baxter International Inc shares are off about 0.6% on the day.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
