How to Find the Ex-Dividend Date for a Stock's Dividend (2024)

FAQs

How to Find the Ex-Dividend Date for a Stock's Dividend? ›

The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date. For example, if a company declares a dividend on March 3 with a record date of Monday, April 11, the ex-dividend date would be Friday, April 8, because it's one business day before the record date.

Existing shareholders receive the declaration information directly from the company, usually by a notice in the mail. Investing information websites regularly publish upcoming ex-dividend dates, along with the amount of the dividend.

The ex-dividend date is set the first business day after the stock dividend is paid (and is also after the record date). If you sell your stock before the ex-dividend date, you also are selling away your right to the stock dividend.

Key Takeaways. You must buy a stock before the ex-dividend date to receive the recently declared dividend. If you buy the stock on the ex-date, you will not be entitled to the dividend because on that date, the stock begins trading ex-dividend, or "without dividend."

The ex dividend date and record date are closely related and often confused. The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date when the shares begin to trade without their dividend. If you buy stocks one day or more before their ex-dividend date, you will still get the dividend.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sets the ex-dividend date to one day before the record date, so that buy and sell information is captured before the record date. The time difference between the dividend record date and ex-dividend date allows the necessary time to prepare paperwork and electronic records.

Sites like CNBC, Morningstar, The Wall Street Journal, and Investopedia are all great resources available for researching dividend data. For example, on Investopedia's Markets Today page, you can use the stock search tool to enter the company name or ticker symbol that you're researching.

With dividends, the stock price typically undergoes a single adjustment by the amount of the dividend. The stock price drops by the amount of the dividend on the ex-dividend date. Remember, the ex-dividend date is typically the same day as the record date.

Ex-dividend means a company's dividend allocations have been specified. The ex-dividend date or "ex-date" is usually one business day before the record date. Investors who purchase a stock on its ex-dividend date or after will not receive the next dividend payment.

Key Takeaways. Shareholders who sell their stock before the ex-dividend date do not receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is the first day of trading in which new shareholders don't have rights to the next dividend disbursem*nt. If shareholders continue to hold their stock, they may qualify for the next dividend.

What is the last day to buy a stock to get the dividend? ›

The ex-dividend date is the first day the stock trades without its dividend, thus ex-dividend. If you want to get the dividend payment, you need to own the stock by this day. That means you have to buy before the end of the day before the ex-dividend date to get the next dividend. In other words, it's the cut-off date.

How Long Do I Need to Own a Stock to Collect the Dividend? To collect a stock's dividend you must own the stock at least two days before the record date and hold the shares until the ex-date.

“Dividend capture strategy” returns are the trading technique of buying a stock just before the dividend is paid, holding it just long enough to collect the dividend, then selling it. If you can sell it for as much as you paid, you have “captured” the dividend at no cost, other than the transaction costs.

Another important note to consider: as long as you purchase a stock prior to the ex-dividend date, you can then sell the stock any time on or after the ex-dividend date and still receive the dividend. A common misconception is that investors need to hold the stock through the record date or pay date.

You can access your historical dividend payments by contacting the share registries that the company is associated with. The share registry will be able to provide you with information such as payment history and tax statements.

Shareholders who sell their stock before the ex-dividend date do not receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is the first day of trading in which new shareholders don't have rights to the next dividend disbursem*nt. If shareholders continue to hold their stock, they may qualify for the next dividend.

Stocks Ex-Dividend Dates Alerts is a pre-set screener. It gets you worth-buying stocks with recent ex-dividend date. A stock's ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date. Investors who buy the stocks on or after that day will not receive dividend.