Chapter 17
Date of Record
The date by which a holder must be on record to be designated to receive a dividend.
Declaration Date
The date on which the board of directors passes a resolution to pay a dividend.
Regular Cash Dividend
A cash payment made by a firm to its owners in the normal course of business, usually paid four times a year.
Distribution
A payment made by a firm to its owners from sources other than current or accumulated retained earnings.
Stock Dividend
A payment made by a firm to its owners in the form of stock, diluting the value of each share outstanding.
Dividend
A payment made out of a firm's earnings to its owners, in the form of either cash or stock.
Reverse Split
A stock split in which a firm's number of shares outstanding is reduced.
Stock split
An increase in a firm's shares outstanding without any change in owners' equity.
Trading Range
The price range between the highest and lowest prices at which a stock is traded.
Date of Payment
The date on which the dividend checks are mailed.
Ex-dividend Date
The date two business days before the date of record, establishing those individuals entitled to a dividend.
Information Content Effect
The market's reaction to a change in corporate dividend payout.
Clientele Effect
The observable fact that stocks attract particular groups based on dividend yield and resulting tax effects.
Stock Repurchase
The purchase, by a corporation, of its own shares of stock; also known as a buyback.
Homemade Dividend Policy
The tailored dividend policy created by individual investors who undo corporate dividend policy by reinvesting dividends or selling shares of stock.