Suppose a stock had an initial price of $70 per share, paid a dividend of $2.30 per share during the year, and had an ending share price of $82. Requried:
a. Compute the percentage total return.
b. What was the dividend yield and the capital gains yield?

Stock, Dividend, and Yield:

a) Computation of the percentage total return:

Total return = Dividend + Capital appreciation = $14.30 ($2.30 + $12)

Percentage of total return = $14.30/$70 x 100 = 20.43%

b1) Dividend yield = Dividend per share / price per share = $2.30/$70 = 0.032857 or 3.29%

b2) Capital gains yield = (Current price - initial investment)/ initial investment = ($82 - $70)/$70 = 0.1714 or 17%

Explanation:

a) The Dividend yield is a financial ratio (dividend/price) that shows how much a company pays out in dividends each year relative to its stock price.  

b) Capital gains yield is the percentage price appreciation on an investment. It is calculated as the increase in the price of an investment, divided by its original acquisition cost.  For instance, an equity security that is purchased for $700 and later sold for $825, the capital gains yield is 17.86%.

c) The total return from an investment is the sum of the dividend or interest received plus capital gains.