Why did the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price struggle last month?

The big banks have benefited from hot running Aussie property markets.

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The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price lost 5.1% last month. Shares closed October trading for $28.14 and finished November worth $26.70

By comparison, November saw the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) down 0.9%.

Below, we take a look at some of the factors moving the ANZ share price last month.

What happened to the ANZ share price in November?

ANZ kicked off November with a strong calendar year behind it. Having recovered from some tough times in 2020, the ANZ share price was up 24% year to date on 1 November.

While 2020 saw the bank cut its full year dividend to 60 cents, it paid an interim dividend of 70 cents per share, fully franked, in July this year. The move would have been welcomed by investors.

Although shares finished the month down, analysts over at Macquarie came out with a positive outlook for the bank.

As The Motley Fool reported on 4 November, Macquarie cited better-than-expected margins and income from markets in ANZ's 2H FY21 results. Acknowledging that home lending figures were below expectations, the analyst said this news has likely already been priced into the market. The broker retained its outperform rating, with a $29.50 target for the ANZ share price.

Share prices tend to drop ex-dividend

One of the factors pulling down the ANZ share price in November was that the bank went ex-dividend on 8 November. The bank will pay a final dividend of 72 cents per share, 100% franked, on 16 December. But only to shareholders who held shares on or before 7 December.

It's quite standard for a company's share price to drop by a similar amount to its upcoming dividend payment on the day it goes ex-dividend.

Finally, the ANZ share price didn't appear overly impacted by news of a lawsuit brought by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and reported on 26 November.

As my Foolish colleague Tristan Harrison wrote on the day, "ASIC has launched a civil penalty proceeding relating to three unlicensed third parties providing home loan application documents to ANZ lenders, including in connection with ANZ's home loan introducer program."

From the release of that announcement on 26 November through to the end of the month, shares in ANZ lost 2.1%.

The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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