Stock dividend history is the time span for which a company has been paying dividends. The investors can look into the dividend history of a company in order to know whether the company has paid dividends reliably and consistently over a period of time. The history of stock dividend is usually studied for a period of ten to twenty years in order to get a clear idea of the dividend history of a company. The management's commitment towards paying dividends on stocks is revealed from the dividend history of a company. There are some companies like Proctor and Gamble, Pfizer and General Electric, which have a dividend history of more than one hundred years.
The companies with a long and flourishing history of stock dividend have satisfactory cash flow and these companies would show further improvements in the future. A stock dividend history is a systematic record or listing of the dates on which a particular company has declared dividends. Dividends are usually calculated for each share and a company chalks out its dividend policies based on its stock dividend history. The stock dividend history clearly reveals the following information:
- Amount of dividend paid by the company
- Yearly dividends paid by the company
- Interim dividends paid by the company
- Detailed history of stock splits
- Form, cash or bonus hares, in which the dividend has been paid
The record date, ex dividend date, declaration date and payment date of the stock dividends of a company are arranged in a chronological and systematic manner in the stock dividend history of a company for the convenience of the investors. If a company has regularly paid stock dividends, then, it has had a solid financial base over the years. Equally important is the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the company. A stock dividend is paid in the form of additional shares of stocks. The tax burden on stock dividends is not as pronounced as that on cash dividends.