On May 5, 2021, Owl Rock Capital (NYSE:ORCC) declared a dividend payable on August 13, 2021 to its shareholders. Owl Rock Capital also announced that shareholders on the company's books on or before June 30, 2021 are entitled to the dividend. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. The ex-dividend date for Owl Rock Capital will be on June 29, 2021. The company's current dividend payout is at $0.31. That equates to a dividend yield of 8.58% at current price levels.

An ex-dividend date is when a company's shares stop trading with its current dividend payout in preparation for the company to announce a new one. 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, Owl Rock Capital has experienced no change regarding its dividend payouts and a downward trend regarding its yields. Last year on September 29, 2020 the company's payout was $0.31, which has returned to its value today. Owl Rock Capital's dividend yield last year was 10.29%, which has since decreased by 1.71%.
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.