On May 5, 2021, FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) declared a dividend payable on June 17, 2021 to its shareholders. FactSet Research Systems also announced that shareholders on the company's books on or before May 31, 2021 are entitled to the dividend. The stock will then go ex-dividend 2 business day(s) before the record date. The ex-dividend date for FactSet Research Systems will be on May 27, 2021. The company's current dividend payout is at $0.82. That equates to a dividend yield of 0.95% at current price levels.

Ex-dividend dates signal when company shares cease to trade with their current dividend payouts. There is a small intermission period before companies announce new dividends. 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.

Over the past year, FactSet Research Systems has experienced an overall upward trend regarding its dividend payouts and a downward trend regarding its yields. Last year on May 28, 2020 the company's payout was $0.77, which has since grown by $0.05. FactSet Research Systems's dividend yield last year was 1.14%, which has since decreased by 0.19%.
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.