CBA (ASX:CBA) share price down despite bigger dividend

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is currently down approximately 1.5% after reporting its FY21 interim result and declaring a bigger dividend.

CBA’s half-year dividend

The CBA board of directors decided to declare an interim dividend of $1.50 per share, fully franked. That was a 25% decrease on the FY20 half-year dividend, but it was a 53% increase on the second half of FY20.

CBA’s dividend represented a dividend payout ratio of 67% of the cash profit, which was below the board’s target payout range.

FY21 half-year result

For the six months to 31 December 2020, the big bank generated $4.88 billion of statutory net profit after tax (NPAT). Cash NPAT was $3.89 billion, down 10.8% compared to the prior…