Do companies lower their stock price to pay dividends on the ex-date, date -of-record, or payable date?

Jinny Dronen: In general, companies do not control their stock price. Their price is set by the open market.

Scot Rotruck: On exdate. Your logic is all messed up, but exdate is when it happens.

Shemeka Laker: You don't know the fundamentals about how stock works. Companies don't price their stock. Stock is priced by investors. On the ex-dividend date, the stock is not going to give you the dividend. Which means that it s worth less than it was the day before by the amount of the dividend ceteris paribas. Which means that it will trade lower by the amount of the dividend.

Ninfa Asby: >> Yes as long as you do not sell it today also. >> No. Because it take three days for a stock trade to settle if you buy the stock on the 4th and sell it on the 5th you will be the stockholder of record at the close on the 7th, assuming no weekends or holidays between the 5th and the 7th. >> Yes you can, but remember that on the ex-dividend date the opening stock price! is usually lower than the previous days closing price by about the of the dividend. So if you sell the stock you usually have a loss on the stock about equal to the what you made from the dividend. Once you include commissions in the calculation you usually lose money....Show more

Warren Kotter: The stock price is NOT set by the company. Theortically, the stock price drops as a stock goes ex-dividend. One does NOT always see such a drop.

Randal Deyarmond: Companies DO NOT and CAN NOT lower the price of their stock to pay dividends. You understanding to totally wrong.There are four dates that relate to Dividends, three are determined by the issuing company and the fourth by the industry.DECLARATION DATE - This is the date the Company’s Board of Directors declares that the company will be paying a dividend.RECORD DATE - This is the date set by the Board of Directors as to what shareholders will be paid. All the shareholders who own the stock on this date and w! hose trades have settled will receive the dividend.PAYABLE DAT! E- This is the date the Board of Directors has chosen as to when the dividend will be paid.X-DATE - This is the date set by the Industry (Markets) as being the cut off date for receiving the dividend. This date if three business days preceding the record date. The securities industry post trades to customer accounts as of the settlement date. So if you buy on x-date or there after, you do not receive this dividend, if you purchased before the X-date, you will receive this dividend....Show more