On July 30, 2021, Baker Hughes (NYSE:BKR) declared a dividend payable on August 20, 2021 to its shareholders. Baker Hughes also announced that shareholders on the company's books on or before August 10, 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 Baker Hughes will be on August 9, 2021. The company's current dividend payout is at $0.18. That equates to a dividend yield of 3.4% 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, Baker Hughes has seen its dividend payouts remain the same and its yields trend downward. Last year on August 7, 2020 the company's payout sat at $0.18, which has returned to its value today. Baker Hughes's dividend yield last year was 4.55%, which has since decreased by 1.15%.
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.