Benzinga | Dec 17, 2020 10:15AM EST

Ex-Dividend Date Insight: The Western Union

On December 11, 2020, The Western Union (NYSE:WU) declared a dividend payable on December 31, 2020 to its shareholders. The Western Union also announced that shareholders on the company's books on or before December 21, 2020 are entitled to the dividend. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. The Western Union has an ex-dividend date set for for December 18, 2020. The company's current dividend payout is $0.23, which equates to a dividend yield of 4.11% 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.

Understanding The Western Union's Dividend Payouts And Yields

Over the past year, The Western Union has seen its dividend payouts and yields climb upward overall. Last year (December 16, 2019), the company's payout sat at $0.2, which has since increased by $0.02. The Western Union's dividend yield last year was 2.99%, which has since grown by 1.12%.

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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