Increased Shareholding and Special Dividends... 'Chosoyaek Juju' Dividend Payments Surge 20-Fold
[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Dividends received by individual investors who invested in Samsung Electronics last year are expected to surpass 1 trillion won. This is attributed to the increased shareholding ratio as individual investors concentrated their purchases on Samsung Electronics, along with the company’s special dividend payout, which significantly increased the total dividend amount.
According to the financial investment industry on the 21st, the total dividends for individual small shareholders of Samsung Electronics (based on common stock) last year are projected to reach 1.146 trillion won, a 204% increase from 377 billion won the previous year. This estimate is based on the shareholding ratio of individual small shareholders at each year-end disclosed on the Korea Securities Depository’s Securities Information Portal (SEIBro) and the quarterly net purchase amount by individuals compiled by the Korea Exchange.
In fact, the individual investor shareholding ratio in Samsung Electronics at the end of last year was 6.49%, up 2.86 percentage points from 3.62% at the end of the previous year. This increase is attributed to novice individual investors who entered the market amid the 'Donghak Ant' craze following the COVID-19 pandemic, judging Samsung Electronics as a safe blue-chip stock and purchasing it in large quantities.
According to the Korea Exchange, individuals purchased Samsung Electronics shares worth 9.5952 trillion won last year alone. The number of individual investors holding Samsung Electronics shares at the end of last year was 2,145,317, approximately four times the 561,449 at the end of 2019.
Samsung Electronics’ dividends themselves also increased. In addition to the regular quarterly dividend of 354 won per share, the company announced a special dividend of 1,578 won per share in the fourth quarter settlement dividend last year, significantly increasing the dividend amount. If the individual small shareholder shareholding ratio remained the same as in 2019, the dividends they receive would be estimated at around 718 billion won. With the 2.86% increase in shareholding ratio, the dividend amount is expected to increase by about 430 billion won.
Meanwhile, dividends received by foreigners from Samsung Electronics last year are estimated at a total of 9.9424 trillion won, a 106% increase from 4.8236 trillion won the previous year. The foreign shareholding ratio in Samsung Electronics was 55.82% at the end of last year, down 1.07 percentage points from 56.89% at the end of 2019.
Additionally, the amount received by minor shareholders under 20 years old, who held a 5.34% shareholding ratio as of the end of last year, from the fourth quarter settlement dividend is expected to be 11.4 billion won, an 18-fold increase from 600 million won the previous year. The fourth quarter settlement dividend portion for ultra-small shareholders holding fewer than 100 shares also surged to 83.2 billion won, about 20 times the previous year.
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