Yield and dividends on the shares of the CAC 40 in 2021

A strong year for CAC 40 shareholders:

While in 2020 many CAC 40 companies had to take the decision to cancel, reduce or suspend their dividend payments, 2021 was a much more interesting year from a shareholder perspective.

While some dividends have not yet returned to their former levels, it is important to analyse them in terms of yield. Indeed, while the share price of this index has mostly fallen in 2020 and 2021, the dividend paid corresponds to a higher yield.

Some companies have even decided to become more generous than usual with their shareholders, in order to compensate for their frustration and disappointment with the previous year's performance.

Some companies have also maintained a high dividend level during the pandemic and are pursuing a policy of redistributing their profits to the benefit of shareholders.

The French stocks that generated the most attractive dividends in 2021 and before :

While the amount of the dividend paid in 2021 by each CAC 40 stock is interesting to know, it is better to look at these stocks over the longer term to identify the best payers on the Euronext Paris market. Based on a 5-year period, the CAC 40 stocks that have offered the best dividends are

• Eutelsat Communications : With a cumulative 5-year dividend yield of 55.98%, or 11.20% per annum, this satellite communications operator is number one in the ranking. After falling to €0.89 in 2020, its dividend rose to €0.93 in 2021, representing a yield of 9.35%.
• Carmilla : This property company specialising in shopping centres has a cumulative yield of 51.69% over five years, i.e. an average of 10.34% per year. In both 2020 and 2021, the company's dividend has been maintained at €1 per share, which represents a yield of 8.43% in 2021.
• SES : The SES share has a five-year cumulative yield of 51.23%, or an average of 10.25% per annum, although this falls to €0.40 in 2021, which still represents a yield of 5.48% for this satellite specialist.
• Unibail Rodamco Westfield : This other leading property company has offered a cumulative stock market return of 45.34% over 5 years, or an average of 9.07% per annum. Although the company has decided to cancel its dividend in 2020 and 2021, it plans to pay its shareholders again from 2023.
• Mercialys : Still one of the most profitable stocks in recent years, the Mercialys group has posted a cumulative dividend yield over 5 years of 43.91%, i.e. an annual average of 8.78%. This real estate company has thus remunerated its shareholders with a dividend of €0.43 in 2021, i.e. a yield of 4.47%.
• TotalEnergies : The French energy giant has a five-year cumulative dividend yield of 34.50%, or an average of 6.90% per year. Although slightly down, the 2021 dividend paid by the group was €2.64, a yield of 7.08%.
• Renault : Over the last 5 years, the Renault group has posted a 4-year cumulative dividend yield of 6.81% per annum. However, the group has cancelled its dividend payment in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus crisis. The company has in fact implemented a strategy of operational and profit recovery and a return of the dividend is thus possible from 2022 or 2023.
• Orange : France's leading telecoms company has offered a five-year cumulative yield of around 34.03%, or an average annual yield of 6.81%. In 2021, the dividend yield paid by Orange, amounting to €0.50, was 5.24%.
• CNP Assurances : Finally, we can also follow the performance of the leading insurance company, which offered a cumulative yield over 5 years of 33.77%, i.e. an annual average of 6.75%. During the year 2021, CNP Assurances paid a dividend of €1.57 per share, which represents a yield of 10.89%. This dividend is particularly interesting because it has increased since 2017 in the current, very tense economic climate.

Details of dividends paid in 2021 by CAC 40 companies:

To enable you to know the precise amount of dividends that have been received by CAC 40 shareholders, here is the price paid for each share in this stock market index in 2021:

• Air Liquide paid a dividend of €2.75 and the Board of Directors has decided on a new allocation of one free share for every 10 shares held which will take place in 2022.
• Airbus did not pay a dividend in 2021 due to the Covid pandemic which impacted its results in 2020.
• Alstom paid a dividend of €0.25 per share in 2021.
• ArcelorMittal paid a dividend of €0.30 per share in 2021.
• Atos paid a dividend of €0.90 per share in 2021.
• AXA paid a dividend of €1.43 per share in 2021.
• BNP Paribas paid a dividend of €1.10 per share in 2021, which is 21% of the 2020 earnings as recommended by the European Central Bank.
• Bouygues paid a dividend of €1.70 per share in 2021.
• CapGemini paid a dividend of €1.95 per share in 2021.
• Carrefour paid a dividend of €0.48 per share in 2021.
• Crédit Agricole paid a dividend of €0.80 per share in 2021 payable in cash or shares. This amount is higher than the usual distribution policy to compensate for the absence of a dividend in 2020.
• Danone paid a dividend of €1.94 per share in 2021.
• Dassault Systèmes paid a dividend of €0.56 per share in 2021.
• Engie paid a dividend of €0.53 per share in 2021.
• EssilorLuxottica paid a dividend of €2.23 per share in 2021.
• Hermes International paid a dividend of €4.55 per share in 2021.
• Kering paid a dividend of €8.00 per share in 2021.
• L'Oréal paid a dividend of €4.00 per share in 2021.
• Legrand paid a dividend of €1.42 per share in 2021.
• LVMH paid a dividend of €6.00 per share in 2021.
• Michelin paid a dividend of €2.30 per share in 2021.
• Orange paid a dividend of €0.90 per share in 2021.
• Pernod Ricard paid a dividend of €3.12 per share in 2021.
• Publicis Group paid a dividend of €2.00 per share in 2021.
• Renault did not pay a dividend to its shareholders in 2021.
• Safran paid a dividend of €0.43 per share in 2021.
• Saint-Gobain paid a dividend of €1.33 per share in 2021.
• Sanofi paid a dividend of €3.20 per share in 2021.
• Schneider Electric paid a dividend of €2.60 per share in 2021.
• Societe Generale paid a dividend of €0.55 per share in 2021, which was restricted under ECB rules.
• Stellantis paid an exceptional dividend of €0.32 per share to its shareholders in 2021.
• STMicroelectronics paid a dividend of €0.18 per share in 2021.
• Teleperformance paid a dividend of €2.40 per share in 2021.
• Thales paid a dividend of €1.76 per share in 2021.
• TotalEnergies paid a dividend of €2.64 per share in 2021.
• Unibail Rodamco Westfield paid no dividend to its shareholders in 2021.
• Veolia paid a dividend of €0.70 per share in 2021.
• Vinci paid a dividend of €2.04 per share in 2021.
• Vivendi paid a dividend of €0.60 per share in 2021.
• Worldline did not pay a dividend to its shareholders in 2021.

What dividends will be paid by CAC 40 companies in 2022?

It is not yet possible to know the exact amount of dividends that will be paid in 2022 by the CAC 40 companies. Indeed, this amount will only be communicated after a vote by the shareholders at the annual general meeting.

This general meeting is always held after the official publication of the group's annual financial results, which usually takes place in the first quarter of the following year.

For 2022, the results for the year 2021 of companies listed on the CAC 40 index will therefore be published at the beginning of the year. It is only after this date that the amount of the dividend and its payment date will be decided.

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