For more information, read our Guide to Dividends and Dividend Investing. It contains tons of great information including:
What Is the Ex-Dividend Date?
101 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Investing in the Stock Market
The ex-dividend date is the official day that anyone owning shares will be entitled to an upcoming dividend (which is called the dividend distribution date). If you bought your stock the day after the ex-dividend date, you would NOT receive that dividend.
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