Editing Dividend (section)

==Dividend dates==
A dividend that is declared must be approved by a company's [[board of directors]] before it is paid. For [[public company|public companies]] in the US, four dates are relevant regarding dividends:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/answers/dividen.htm|title=SEC.gov – Ex-Dividend Dates: When Are You Entitled to Stock and Cash Dividends|website=www.sec.gov}}</ref> The position in the UK is very similar, except that the expression "in-dividend date" is not used.

'''Declaration date''' – the day the board of directors announces its intention to pay a dividend. On that day, a [[Liability (financial accounting)|liability]] is created and the company records that liability on its books; it now owes the money to the shareholders.

'''In-dividend date''' – the last day, which is one trading day before the ''ex-dividend date'', where shares are said to be ''cum dividend'' ('with ['''in'''cluding] dividend'). That is, existing shareholders and anyone who buys the shares on this day will receive the dividend, and any shareholders who have sold the shares lose their right to the dividend. After this date the shares becomes ''ex dividend''.

'''[[Ex-dividend date]]''' – the day on which shares bought and sold no longer come attached with the right to be paid the most recently declared dividend. In the United States and many European countries, it is typically one trading day before the ''record date''. This is an important date for any company that has many shareholders, including those that trade on exchanges, to enable reconciliation of who is entitled to be paid the dividend. Existing shareholders will receive the dividend even if they sell the shares on or after that date, whereas anyone who bought the shares will not receive the dividend. It is relatively common for a share's price to decrease on the ex-dividend date by an amount roughly equal to the dividend being paid, which reflects the decrease in the company's assets resulting from the payment of the dividend.

'''[[Book closure|Book closure date]]''' – when a company announces a dividend, it will also announce the date on which the company will temporarily close its books for share transfers, which is also usually the record date.

'''Record date''' – [[Stockholder of Record|shareholders registered]] in the company's record as of the record date will be paid the dividend, while shareholders who are not registered as of this date will not receive the dividend. Registration in most countries is essentially automatic for shares purchased before the ex-dividend date.

'''Payment date''' – the day on which dividend cheques will actually be mailed to shareholders or the dividend amount credited to their bank account.