Dividend Payments Explained

There are 4 key dates to understand for dividend investing:

Declaration Date: This is when the dividend and related dates are announced

Ex-Dividend Date: The cutoff of when a stock can be purchased to be eligible for dividends.

Record Date: When a company checks to see who is eligible for dividends

Payment Date: When dividends are paid out to eligible shareholders.

For large special dividends (greater than 25% of the stock’s price), the ex-dividend date typically comes after the payment date. This is done to ensure there is not a large drop in stock value after the dividend is paid.

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