On March 1, 2021, John Hancock Premium Div (NYSE:PDT) declared a dividend payable on March 31, 2021 to its shareholders. John Hancock Premium Div also announced that shareholders on the company's books on or before March 11, 2021 are entitled to the dividend. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. John Hancock Premium Div, whose current dividend payout is $0.1, has an ex-dividend date set at March 10, 2021. The payout equates to a dividend yield of 8.25% at current price levels.

Ex-dividend dates are when company shares stop trading with their current dividend payouts in preparation for those companies to announce new ones. 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.

Over the past year, John Hancock Premium Div has seen its dividend payouts remain the same and its yields trend downward. Last year on November 10, 2020 the company's payout sat at $0.1, which has returned to its value today. John Hancock Premium Div's dividend yield last year was 9.32%, which has since decreased by 1.07%.
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.