On July 1, 2021, First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) declared a dividend payable on August 2, 2021 to its shareholders. First United also announced that shareholders on the company's books on or before July 19, 2021 are entitled to the dividend. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. First United has an ex-dividend date planned for July 16, 2021. The company's current dividend payout sits at $0.15. That equates to a dividend yield of 3.44% 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, First United has experienced an overall upward trend regarding its dividend payouts and a downward trend regarding its yields. Last year on July 16, 2020 the company's payout was $0.13, which has since grown by $0.02. First United's dividend yield last year was 3.53%, which has since decreased by 0.09%.
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.