How do you know how often a stock pays dividends? Two ways for investors to determine how often a stock pays a dividend. I am not a licensed investment advisor and this post is not investment advice.
Of course, dividend payment frequency is not the most important thing for dividend investors to know.
But the dividend payment frequency is important for investors who rely on dividend income.
The question is, how do you know how often a stock pays dividends? How do investors find out?
In this post, I will show you how to determine how often a stock pays dividends.
Let’s jump right in.
How Do You Know How Often A Stock Pays Dividends?
Simply put, there are two ways to determine how often a stock pays dividends.
Essentially, investors can check the dividend frequency using their stock brokerage or make the calculation yourself.
Check The Dividend Frequency Through Your Stock Brokerage
The quickest and easiest way to know how often a stock pays a dividend is to check with your stock brokerage.
To check how often a stock pays a dividend, simply look up a stock quote using your stock brokerage.
Most stock brokerages will list the dividend frequency as part of the detailed quote. The dividend frequency shows if the dividend is paid quarterly, monthly, or annually.
Typically, dividend are paid quarterly.
As for REITs (real estate investment trusts), they are usually paid monthly.
But on rare occasion, stocks will pay annual dividends.
Related: How Often Are Dividends Usually Paid?
Calculate The Payment Yourself
In the rare case that your stock brokerage does not tell you the dividend frequency, you can calculate it yourself.
To calculate the frequency yourself, you just need to know the annual dividend payment and the most recent dividend payment amount.
From there, simply divide the annual dividend payment by the most recent dividend payment amount.
To determine the annual dividend and most recent dividend, investors can use a combination of Morningstar and their brokerage.
For example, let’s take a look at Altria Group.
According to Morningstar, the annual dividend payment of Altria Group (MO) is $3.60 per share. My brokerage lists the most recent Altria Group dividend payment at $0.90.
To know when dividends are paid, divide $3.60 by $0.90. The answer is 4.
As such, the dividend is paid quarterly, since it is paid 4 times per year.
How Do You Know How Often A Stock Pays Dividends?
How do you know how often a stock pays dividends?
In short, investors can use two methods to determine the dividend frequency:
- Check the dividend frequency via their stock brokerage
- Calculate the frequency manually.
Most of the time, the stock brokerage will show the dividend frequency when you look up a detailed quote.
Frankly, it’s rare that investors will need to use the manual calculation method.
Similar Articles On Dividend Investing To Check Out
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Dividend Investing Tips: Must-Know Tips For Dividend Investors
Dividend Income January 2022: 110% YoY Growth
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