Most investors are very familiar with dividends, but they may be less familiar with the specific timeline associated with a company's dividend distribution: the declaration date, the record date, the ex-dividend date, and the actual distribution date. Although buy-and-hold investors don't have to be keenly attuned to all of those dates, it's still important to have a working understanding of them. We've outlined some key dates below.

Declaration Date This date, also known as the announcement date, is the date on which a company declares it will pay a dividend. Ex-Dividend Date To further complicate matters, dividend-paying stocks also have what are called ex-dividend dates--usually two business days before the record date. If you buy or sell shares of stock between the ex-dividend date and the record date, the stock is said to trade without its dividend during that period. Payment Date The payment date is straightforward: It's the date that dividend checks are mailed or deposited in shareholders' accounts.

Source: Morningstar

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