Today Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) becomes the latest bank to give its shareholders an early Christmas present.
The banking giant is due to pay eligible shareholders a fully franked 80 cents per share final dividend.
If you're planning to reinvest these funds back into the share market, then here are three top ASX shares that I would buy:
Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)
If you're interested in growth shares then this electronic design software company could be the one to buy. I believe it could provide strong returns over the next decade due to its exposure to the Internet of Things (IoT) market. This is because the vast majority of IoT devices contain printed circuit boards (PCBs). I expect this to lead to increasingly strong demand for its award winning PCB design software, Altium Designer. Management appears confident that this will be the case. It is aiming to grow its revenue to $500 million by FY 2025. This is more than double its FY 2020 guidance of US$205 million to US$215 million.
Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)
Investors looking for a combination of growth and income might want to consider this supermarket operator. One of the main reasons I like Cole is due to its defensive qualities. Even if Australia were to go into a recession, consumers would still need to eat. In addition to this, I think its expansion opportunities and refreshed strategy are also attractive. The latter is aiming to cut costs materially through the use of automation and efficiencies. I expect this to support solid earnings and dividend growth over the next decade. At present I estimate that its shares offer a fully franked forward 3.5% dividend.
Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)
If you wish to turn these dividends into even more dividends then Scentre Group could be a good option. It is the operator of the Westfield properties in the ANZ market. As of its last update, its properties welcomed 535 million customer visits through their doors over the last 12 months. This has led to strong demand for tenancies from retailers. So much so, 99.3% of its portfolio was leased in September. I believe this puts Scentre in a good position to grow its distribution at a modest rate in the future. Not that it necessarily needs to grow to be attractive in this low interest rate environment. At present its units offer a very generous estimated forward 5.8% distribution yield.
