Question about dividends?

Question

When a company plans to distribute a dividend payment and they state that they will pay to holders as of... How long must one have a stock from the time of purchase to be considered a record holder? - for example - if i bought a stock 3 weeks before i thought the dividend payment would be payed and then sell it and buy another - is it possible for me to receive more than 4 quarterly dividend payments from multiple companies?

Answer 1

you have to own the stock before the dividend date.  however, since it takes 3 days for transfer of the stock to your name, you have to buy it 3 days before the dividend date.

you can collect as many dividends as you want.

Answer 2

When a company announces dividends, it's usually in the form of:

"XYZ company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 to be paid on August 15 to all shareholders-of-record as of July 25".

Everyone who owns the stock on July 25 will get the dividend.

If you buy it on July 24, or January 24, it doesn't matter.

And if you sell it on July 26, or August 15, or December 31, it doesn't matter.

Of course, the guy who you're buying the stock from on July 24 knows he will get an extra $0.25 if he holds onto it for just one more day, so he's going to want a little more money to get rid of it on the 24th....

Answer 3

Keep in mind that you will not qualify for the lower tax rate if you do not hold the shares for a total of 61 days.

Answer 4

You want to be holding the stock before the ex-dividend