Invested $5,000 in BHP shares 5 years ago? Here's how much passive income you've earned

Has the ASX 200 giant really returned 110% in just half a decade?

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Happy man holding Australian dollar notes, representing dividends.

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Key points

  • The BHP share price has gained nearly 61% over the last five years to trade at $49.54 today
  • Meanwhile, the company has paid out $15.31 of dividends per share 
  • That leaves the stock boasting a total return – including both dividends and capital gains – of around 110% since early 2018

The last five years have been good to the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price. In the meantime, the iron ore giant has been handing investors some pretty generous dividends.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) icon were trading for just $30.81 in late January 2018.

Today, they're swapping hands for $49.54 – approximately 61% higher than this time five years ago.

That means a $5,000 investment back then would be worth $8,025.48 today.

Created with Highcharts 11.4.3BHP Group PriceZoom1M3M6MYTD1Y5Y10YALLwww.fool.com.au

But what about the dividends? Let's take a look at the total return – including dividends – a long-term investor has likely received from BHP shares.

All dividends offered by BHP shares since 2018

Here're all the dividends BHP shareholders probably received over the last five years:

BHP dividends' pay dateTypeDividend amount
September 2022Final$2.55
March 2022Interim$2.08
September 2021Final$2.71
March 2021Interim$1.31
September 2020Final75.4 cents
March 2020Interim99.4 cents
September 2019Final$1.13
March 2019Interim78.1 cents
January 2019Special$1.41
September 2018Final88.5 cents
March 2018Interim70.6 cents
Total: $15.31

As the chart above shows, each BHP share has been the bearer of $15.31 in dividends since January 2018. That means a $5,000 investment in the stock back then has likely yielded $2,480.22 of passive income.

That also means our figurative investor has probably realised a return on investment (ROI) of around 110% in time, factoring in both share price gains and dividends.

And that could have been boosted if they had of compounded their dividends, perhaps using the ASX 200 company's dividend reinvestment plan (DRP). Not to mention, the fully franked payouts might have provided extra benefits come tax time.

BHP shares currently boast a whopping 9.35% dividend yield.

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