Vodafone PLC is selling its 45% shareholding in Verizon Wireless, and later in the year will get about £84 billion (US$130 billion)

[http://www.vodafone.com/content/index/media/group_press_releases/2013/vodafone_to_realiseus130billionforits45interestinverizonwireless.yes.html]

A lot of this money will be returned to Vodafone shareholders via a special dividend. This got me thinking about the Vodafone dividend.

Today, owning shares in Vodafone, is quite handy in these times of 0.5% interest rates. The yield on Vodafone stock is about 4.8%.
[http://www.shareshop.hsbc.co.uk/shareshop/security.cgi?csi=10097]

So £100 invested in Vodafone stock today will earn £4.80 a year.

So what is the cost of the dividend to shareholders from Vodafone ?

In 2013, Vodafone has paid 2 dividends:

7 August 2013 Final dividend 2013 payment of 6.92p

6 February 2013 Interim dividend 2013 payment of 3.27p

That is 10.19p for the year. [£0.1019]

Now, the total number of voting right shares in Vodafone is 48,450,408,385.

Thus, the cash to fund the Vodafone 2013 dividend is 48,450,408,385 x £0.1019

= £4,937,096,614. YES, £4,937 Million = £4.937 Billion.

To pay the 2 dividends this year, Vodafone needed £4.937 Billion in cash to meet this payment.
Our pension funds need companies like this, that reward long term investors.