What is a Stock Dividend?

Stock dividends are profits shared by a company with its shareholders or stockholders. Companies pay stock dividends to stockholders regularly. It is one of the ways investors of the company earn returns. Not all stocks or shares pay dividends to investors. Only dividend stocks do. So investors specifically choose these stocks if they want to earn dividends.

A dividend is paid per stock. To check dividends received or computed, take stock of one's shares in the company. So if an investor has 1000 shares in a company, and that organization pays $100 in yearly cash dividends, then the investor receives $100,000 annually. Usually, an organization pays dividends on its common stock. A common stock gives investors voting rights. The voting right is generally one vote per share.

Common stock is different from preferred stock. In the latter type of stock, an investor has no voting right. But preferred stockholders get a higher priority over an organization's income. Stock dividend payments are first distributed to preferred stockholders and common shareholders. Common stockholders are paid last. 

So the method to check dividends received and the rationale behind it for common stockholders is to inspect the organization's balance sheet. The balance sheet reflects the payments made to shareholders. Stock dividends are paid to common stockholders after paying dividends to bondholders, creditors, and preferred stockholders. 

Stock dividends can be paid monthly, quarterly, semiannually, and annually. Investors can use a dividend calculator online to compute their upcoming dividend calculations. The company's board decides on the dividend amount, time of disbursal, and ex-dividend date. The ex-dividend date is when prospective shareholders must own the stock so that they can receive the dividend payment. If investors sell their shares after this date, they will still get the dividend payment. 

How do Stock Dividends Work?

The dividend amount and the frequency of dividend payout depend on the organization. Some companies pay dividends from profits, while some pay from their earnings which were retained for this purpose, even though they couldn't make profits for that period. An online dividend calculator India and financial wealth management agent can help investors understand how to mix their investments in both types of investment buckets. 

The latter case is an example of keeping investor morale and confidence high in the company. Companies are required to pay their taxes before paying dividends to investors. An online dividend calculator can help investors understand dividend calculations based on profit vs. retained earnings.

Dividend payments can be interim or final. Interim payments are paid throughout the year at regular time periods – like quarterly or monthly. Final dividend payments are paid annually after the financial year. The company is not required to pay tax on any dividend payment to investors. However, investors who receive dividend payments are required to pay tax. 

There are various types of dividends. The way how to calculate dividend income differs by type of stock. The stock types are Stock dividends

•    Cash dividends 
•    Special dividends
•    Dividend reinvestment programs
•    Preferred dividends
•    Special dividends

Out of these, cash dividends are the most common. Companies pay cash dividends as direct cash into the investors' brokerage accounts. Stock dividends are the second common type, where shareholders receive additional stocks instead of cash payments. 

There are some important dividend dates to remember:

Dividend announcement – This date is when the organization's management team conveys the upcoming dividend payout details. This date sometimes determines how to calculate dividend income. 
Ex-date – This is when a stockholder must purchase and own shares to receive dividend payments.
Record date – The date by which the organization must decide upon the shareholders who qualify for dividend payments.
Dividend payment – The date the dividend payout is disbursed to stockholders.

Why Do Organizations Pay Dividends?

Companies pay dividends as a reward for investors' trust in the organization. Dividend payments suggest that the organization is doing well. In many countries, shareholders are not required to pay tax on their dividends, so they treat this as a good source of income.

A company could make a high-value declaration of its dividend payout. It is done to suggest the company's overall health and that it is profitable or aligned for profitability. It can indicate that the company has multiple high-value projects. The company requires investors to vest their long-term trust for this purpose. 

Reduced dividend payments could send multiple indications to the shareholders of a company. If the company has a long-standing history of paying high dividends and a dip in dividend payments, it could be facing headwinds. There could be situations when a company uses its earned profit for business expansion. This could lead to a lower dividend payment. Shareholders are informed of this move. Most shareholders will agree to this move if it is projected to increase their earning potential in the foreseeable future. 

What is the Difference between Dividends Paid by Companies Vs Dividends Paid by Mutual Funds?

Dividends paid by mutual funds are different from dividends paid by organizations. Those searching on finding dividends that pay regularly can invest in dividend-paying funds. Dividends paid by organizations are paid from profits earned. Dividends paid from funds are based on a shareholder's holding's net asset value (NAV). It can also be found in the asset prices that a mutual fund covers. Mutual funds do not have the concept of profits. There is no intrinsic profit component in them. Therefore, the net asset value becomes the source of dividend payments. 

The virtue of NAV in funds could lead to regular and frequent payments of dividends. This could lead the investor to believe that the fund is performing well. While this could be true, it is not always the case. For example, a fund that invests in government bonds could pay monthly dividends. The fund receives the money from the interest generated from its interest-laden holdings. The fund only routes the interest income, either in whole or part, to the fund's investors. 

 How is Dividend Income Calculated?

Dividend income is called the dividend yield ratio. This is one of the ways to find dividends that pay well. It is calculated by dividing per share's dividend amount by per share's market value. However, most organizations do not announce dividend income this way. They convey the information on the gross dividend disbursed.

To better illustrate this with an example, assume an organization has announced Rs. 20,00,000 as cash dividend payment for the current financial year. The number of common stock is 20,000. So, the per-share dividend yield is calculated using the following simple formula that any dividend calculator India agent uses:
Per-share dividend = Total calculated cash dividend / outstanding number of common stock
= 20, 00,000/20,000 = 100
So the per share dividend is 100. To derive the dividend yield ratio, divide 100 by the prevailing market price. If the overall price in the share market is Rs. 2,000, the following is the dividend yield ratio.
Dividend yield ratio = per share dividend / per share market value = 100/2000 = 0.2 or 20%