It's not much of a secret to say that the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has enjoyed a rather stellar six months. Not only has the ASX 200 hit a series of new all-time highs between March and the present, but it has also given us a rather successful earnings season on the whole over August too. In fact, between 3 March and today, the ASX 200 has managed a healthy gain of 10.3%. But one major ASX 200 constituent has done one better on the ASX 200. Almost doubled its returns in fact. That would be the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price.
Yes, CBA, the largest ASX 200 company by market capitalisation (and therefore weighting) has had a truly stellar six months. Since 3 March, CBA shares have gone from roughly $85.40 a share to Friday's closing share price of $101.88. That's a gain of 19.3% – almost double that of the broader ASX 200.
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What has made the CBA share price a market-beating investment over the past 6 months?
This period has also seen a series of new all-time highs for the CBA share price. The bank first broke above $100 a share for the first time ever back in early June, going on to hit $106 a share by the middle of the month. Then, CBA shares hit their current all-time high of $109.03 last month. The catalyst for that move was the bank's FY21 earnings report.
This earnings report has really been the event CBA shares were building up to all year. Even before Commonwealth Bank released its numbers, speculation was swirling that the ASX's largest bank would be raining dividends and share buybacks on its investors. These rumours arguably helped to push CBA shares higher all year.
Well, CBA didn't disappoint on 11 August when its earnings finally arrived. The bank told investors that they would be receiving a $2 per share final dividend on 29 September. It also revealed the details of a $6 billion share buyback program, which will even give some existing investors a hefty tax break if they sell their shares back to CBA.
It was right after this announcement that CBA hit its new all-time high. In the weeks since, the CBA share price has cooled somewhat. It's now down almost 7% from its high watermark. Even so, this ASX bank has proven to be a fantastic investment in 2021 so far.
At the last CBA share price, this ASX bank has a market capitalisation of $179.84 billion, and a dividend yield of 3.44%.
