Benzinga | Jan 22, 2021 10:34AM EST

Ex-Dividend Date Insight: Royal Bank of Canada

On December 2, 2020, Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) announced shareholders can expect to receive a dividend payable on February 24, 2021. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. Royal Bank of Canada has an ex-dividend date set for for January 25, 2021. The company's current dividend payout is $1.08, which equates to a dividend yield of 4.04% at current price levels.

What Are Ex-Dividend Dates?

Ex-dividend dates signal when company shares cease to trade with their current dividend payouts. There is a small intermission period before companies announce new dividends. Usually, a company's ex-dividend date falls one business day before its record date. Investors should keep this in mind when purchasing stocks because buying them on or after ex-dividend dates does not qualify them to receive the declared payment. Newly declared dividends go to shareholders who have owned that stock before the ex-dividend date. Typically, companies will announce and implement new dividend yields on a quarterly basis.

Royal Bank of Canada's Dividend History

Over the past year, Royal Bank of Canada has experienced an overall upward trend regarding its dividend payouts and yields. Last year on January 24, 2020 the company's payout was $1.05, which has since grown by $0.03. Similarly, Royal Bank of Canada's dividend yield in last year was 3.92%, which has since grown by 0.12%.

Companies use dividend yields in different strategic ways. Some companies may opt to not give yields altogether to reinvest in themselves. Other companies may opt to increase or decrease their yield amounts to control how their shares circulate throughout the stock market.

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