Benzinga | Apr 5, 2021 10:17AM EDT

Analyzing Marsh & McLennan's Ex-Dividend Date

On March 17, 2021, Marsh & McLennan (NYSE:MMC) declared a dividend payable on May 14, 2021 to its shareholders. Marsh & McLennan also announced that shareholders on the company's books on or before April 7, 2021 are entitled to the dividend. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. Marsh & McLennan has an ex-dividend date set for for April 6, 2021. The company's current dividend payout is $0.47, which equates to a dividend yield of 1.57% at current price levels.

What Are Ex-Dividend Dates?

An ex-dividend date is when a company's shares stop trading with its current dividend payout in preparation for the company to announce a new one. 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. Most ex-dividend dates operate on a quarterly basis.

Understanding Marsh & McLennan's Dividend Performance

Over the past year, Marsh & McLennan has experienced an overall upward trend regarding its dividend payouts and a downward trend regarding its yields. Last year on April 7, 2020 the company's payout was $0.46, which has since grown by $0.01. Marsh & McLennan's dividend yield last year was 1.77%, which has since decreased by 0.2%.

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.

Click here to find details on Marsh & McLennan's previous dividends.