Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) shares are in the green on Thursday, up 0.88% to $185.53.
Macquarie is often referred to as the fifth bank of Australia's big four ASX 200 bank shares.
It isn't your traditional sort of bank that simply lends money and provides day-to-day banking services to predominantly Australian customers like the big four do.
It also provides financial, advisory, investment, and fund management services across 34 markets globally.
Macquarie is primarily involved in investment and commercial banking and asset management.
In fact, it's among the top 50 global asset managers and has about $800 billion in funds under management.
And the experts say this is what makes Macquarie shares appealing to investors.
Diversification the key to Macquarie's appeal
Motley Fool analysts say Macquarie's product and geographical diversity distinguish it from the other ASX 200 bank shares.
Motley Fool analyst Ed Vesely says:
Macquarie is an extremely diversified business – both in regard to the industries it services and its geographical footprint.
Macquarie currently services around 34 different markets and is split across four main businesses.
The beauty behind this approach is that Macquarie can spread the risk around so that a 'wipe out' in any one area won't adversely impact the business.
Another Motley Fool analyst Ian Crane adds:
Macquarie's diversified operations is an important factor in the company's consistency of performance and cash flow generation.
While financial results within the different parts of Macquarie Group will fluctuate from one period to the next, we believe the company will continue to deliver an attractive stream of dividends over time.
Macquarie share price growth compared to the big four
As you can see below, the Macquarie share price has delivered 285% growth over the past 10 years.
It has far outperformed the other big four ASX 200 bank shares.
In fact, it would be fair to say Macquarie is a growth share among the ASX 200 bank shares.
The big four look like income shares, given their poor capital growth performance over this time frame.
As my Fool colleague James reports, Morgan Stanley has an overweight rating on Macquarie and a price target of $215.
That indicates a potential upside of 16% over the next 12 months.
What about dividends?
Like the big four banks, Macquarie shares are known for paying solid dividends.
As my Fool colleague Tristan reports, Commsec estimates indicate Macquarie is forecast to pay a partially franked annual dividend of $6.69 for FY24 (and $7.15 in FY25).
At the current Macquarie share price, this would represent a partially franked dividend yield of 3.6%.
Macquarie paid $7.50 in dividends in FY23.
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) is expected to pay the highest dividend yield for FY24 among the big four ASX 200 bank shares. The yield will be about 7%.
View our recent article for a complete list of FY24 forecasted dividends for all of the ASX 200 bank shares.
