ok Dennis, there are 3 dates to be aware of for dividends.
the least important is the payment date - that's just the date on which the dividend will be paid, and it has nothing to do with whether or not you are entitled to the dividend.
the date of record determines if you will get the dividend - you must own the stock on that date in order to receive the dividend on the payment date
however, you cannot buy the stock on the record date and expect to get the dividend - because it takes 3 days to settle a stock trade before you actually own the stock.
this leads to the most important date, known as the ex-dividend date, which is the date on which the stock begins to trade without the dividend. because of the 3 day settlement period, the ex-div date is two business days before the record date.
therefore, if you want to get a dividend for a stock, the latest date on which you can purchase the stock is the day before the ex-dividend date.
so, for NLY,the latest dividend is payable on 4/30. the record date is 3/31, and the ex-div date is 3/27.
so, if you bought the stock anytime before 3/27, and sold it anytime on or after 3/27, you would be entitled to the dividend on 4/30.
all you ever wanted to know about dividends, and then some
Bob |
