On May 20, 2021, Apollo Investment (NASDAQ:AINV) announced shareholders can expect to receive a dividend payable on July 7, 2021. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. The ex-dividend date for Apollo Investment will be on June 16, 2021. The company's current dividend payout is at $0.31. That equates to a dividend yield of 8.5% 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. Most ex-dividend dates operate on a quarterly basis.

Over the past year, Apollo Investment has experienced no change regarding its dividend payouts and a downward trend regarding its yields. Last year on December 18, 2020 the company's payout was $0.31, which has returned to its value today. Apollo Investment's dividend yield last year was 15.6%, which has since decreased by 7.1%.
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.