Why are CSL shares falling today?

The CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) share price is down 2% in early trading as the ASX healthcare share feels the effects of the ASX stock market sell-off. CSL shares also went ex-dividend today.

On Friday in the US market, there was a sizeable decline in a number of stocks. Nvidia fell 5.5%, Eli Lilly dropped 2.3%, Microsoft declined 0.7%, Tesla fell 1.8% and so on. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is currently down by 1.3%.

Ex-dividend day

One of the factors that may be impacting CSL shares today is that it went ex-dividend.

An ex-dividend date tells the market when new investors buying shares will miss out on the upcoming dividend. There has to be a cut-off point for deciding who will and who won’t receive the dividend.

Anyone who buys today is missing out on the interim dividend payment. Investors who bought CSL shares last week are eligible to receive the dividend, assuming they’re still shareholders on the record date (tomorrow).

How much is being paid?

CSL is going to pay a dividend of US$1.19 to shareholders, which at the time of the FY24 first-half result translated into approximately A$1.81 per share (an increase of 12%).

At the current exchange rates, the upcoming payment equates to A$1.80 per share.

CSL is expecting to release information about exchange rates for Australian and New Zealand dollar payments on 14 March 2024.

The ASX healthcare share is planning to pay this dividend on 3 April 2024, which is only a few weeks away.

CSL was able to deliver a bigger dividend after growing net profit after tax (NPAT) by 17% to US$1.9 billion in its FY24 first-half result. It also reported underlying earnings per share (EPS) growth of 11% to US$4.18.

Profit expectations

The company is expecting to report underlying NPATA of between US$2.9 billion to US$3 billion, which would be growth of between 13% to 17%.

Management thinks the business is in a strong position to deliver annualised double-digit earnings growth over the medium term.

On Commsec, the estimates imply the CSL share price is currently valued at 30 times FY24’s estimated earnings. It could pay an annual dividend of A$4, according to Commsec, which puts the forecast forward dividend yield at 1.4%.

The post Why are CSL shares falling today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 3 ASX shares you can confidently invest $500 in right now
• 1 ASX stock that has created millionaires and will continue to make more
• 13 ASX 200 shares with ex-dividend dates next week
• Want to grab the CSL dividend? There’s not much time left!

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended CSL, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended CSL and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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