On February 19, 2021, Waddell & Reed Financial (NYSE:WDR) declared a dividend payable on April 30, 2021 to its shareholders. Waddell & Reed Financial also announced that shareholders on the company's books on or before April 9, 2021 are entitled to the dividend. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. Waddell & Reed Financial has an ex-dividend date set for for April 8, 2021. The company's current dividend payout is $0.25, which equates to a dividend yield of 3.97% 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, Waddell & Reed Financial has experienced no change regarding its dividend payouts and a downward trend regarding its yields. Last year on April 8, 2020 the company's payout was $0.25, which has returned to its value today. Waddell & Reed Financial's dividend yield last year was 8.69%, which has since decreased by 4.72%.
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.