Benzinga | Mar 17, 2021 10:37AM EDT

Understanding QTS Realty Trust's Ex-Dividend Date

On February 3, 2021, QTS Realty Trust (NYSE:QTS) declared a dividend payable on April 6, 2021 to its shareholders. QTS Realty Trust also announced that shareholders on the company's books on or before March 19, 2021 are entitled to the dividend. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. QTS Realty Trust has an ex-dividend date set for for March 18, 2021. The company's current dividend payout is $0.5, which equates to a dividend yield of 3.0% at current price levels.

The Significance Of Ex-Dividend Dates

An ex-dividend date signals when a company's shares cease to trade with its current dividend payout. There is a small intermission period before the company announces a new dividend. 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 QTS Realty Trust's Dividend History

Over the past year, QTS Realty Trust has experienced an overall upward trend regarding its dividend payouts and a downward trend regarding its yields. Last year on March 19, 2020 the company's payout was $0.47, which has since grown by $0.03. QTS Realty Trust's dividend yield last year was 3.11%, which has since decreased by 0.11%.

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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