Three stocks return over half total FTSE 100 dividends in July
A trio of big dividend payers make up a significant proportion of all blue-chip income handed to shareholders this month. City writer Graeme Evans runs through the list.
1st July 2025 13:06
by Graeme Evans from interactive investor
An extra billion National Grid (LSE:NG.) shares will impact dividend income for some investors when the power firm joins GSK (LSE:GSK) and 17 other FTSE 100 companies in paying £5 billion back to shareholders this month.
The National Grid full-year distribution continues to be in the region of £1.5 billion, but this will be spread across a higher number of shares as a result of last year’s £7 billion rights issue.
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The dividend per share for payment on 17 July is 30.88p, which compares with the 39.12p declared alongside the fundraising in 2023/24 results.
The year-on-year difference in dividend income will depend on whether shareholders took the opportunity in the rights issue to buy seven discounted shares for every 24 they already owned.
For those who took up their full entitlement, the total dividend for 2024/25 of 46.72p a share is 3.2% higher when the previous year’s award is rebased for the additional shares.
Under its new five-year financial framework, National Grid has pledged to continue benchmarking the dividend against the increase in inflation as measured by average annual CPI plus housing costs.
This means the payment is protected in real terms, having achieved a 30% higher total shareholder return compared with the FTSE 100 over the last decade.
At the end of March, National Grid said it had £18 billion of distributable reserves, which is sufficient to cover more than five years of forecast group dividends.
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The next biggest payer in July will be GSK, which is due to distribute £648 million or 16p a share on 10 July. The award in relation to first-quarter trading compares with £612 million or 15p a share the year before.
The pharmaceuticals company, which trades with a dividend yield of 4.4%, expects to return a total of 64p a share across the 2025 financial year. This is part of a policy driven by a 40%-60% pay-out ratio through the investment cycle.
The 111,950 shareholders of Marks & Spencer Group (LSE:MKS) can expect the payment of a dividend of 2.6p a share on Friday, representing a total outlay of £52 million at a current yield of 1%.
The retailer, which resumed payments in January 2024 after a four-year Covid-related pause, has previously told shareholders that a “modest” dividend is right for where it is in its transformation plan.
The M&S interim dividend for 2025/26 should be one third of the prior year total of 3.6p a share.
The highest yielding stock in July’s calendar is WPP (LSE:WPP), which is due to distribute £263 million through the payment of a full-year dividend of 4.4p on 4 July. The marketing and advertising group, which has lost more than a third of its value this year, yields income of 7.8%.
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The next best is the 6.4% of Land Securities Group (LSE:LAND), which is due to pay a final dividend of 12.30p a share worth £92 million on 25 July. It is planning a move from quarterly to half-yearly dividends for the 2026 financial year, starting with the interim award in January.
Among other dividend paying firms, Primark owner Associated British Foods (LSE:ABF) is due to hand over an unchanged 20.7p interim award worth £148 million on Friday.
On the same day, a 60.6p full-year payment by Premier Inn business Whitbread (LSE:WTB) will represent a fall from 62.9p the year before but is part of an unchanged total across the financial year of 97p. Both companies are also buying back their own shares.
The third-largest distribution is by 3i Group Ord (LSE:III), which is to pay a second interim dividend of £410 million or 42.5p a share on 25 July. The total dividend for 2024/25 increased 19.7% to 73p.
This month’s payment means the Action discount chain owner will have paid a total of £4.6 billion to shareholders in dividends since a restructuring in June 2012, representing compound annual growth rate of 18% over this period.
Company | Payment date | Current dividend yield (%) |
02-Jul | 3.2 | |
04-Jul | 3.0 | |
04-Jul | 1.0 | |
04-Jul | 3.5 | |
04-Jul | 7.8 | |
10-Jul | 0.4 | |
10-Jul | 4.4 | |
11-Jul | 2.5 | |
11-Jul | 1.2 | |
11-Jul | 4.5 | |
11-Jul | 4.7 | |
15-Jul | 4.4 | |
17-Jul | 4.4 | |
17-Jul | 4.4 | |
18-Jul | 1.3 | |
25-Jul | 1.8 | |
25-Jul | 2.8 | |
25-Jul | 6.4 | |
31-Jul | 1.9 |
Source: interactive investor, ShareScope. Data and any dividend conversions to sterling at exchange rates correct on 27 June 2025.
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