On December 18, 2020, Eaton Vance (NYSE:EFR) announced shareholders can expect to receive a dividend payable on January 15, 2021. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. Eaton Vance, which has a current dividend per share of $0.07, has an ex-dividend date scheduled for December 29, 2020. That equates to a dividend yield of 6.09% at current price levels.

An ex-dividend date signals when a company's shares cease to trade with its current dividend payout. There is a small intermission period before the company announces a new dividend. 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, Eaton Vance has seen its dividend payouts remain the same and its yields trend downward. Last year on September 22, 2020 the company's payout sat at $0.07, which has returned to its value today. Eaton Vance's dividend yield last year was 6.57%, which has since decreased by 0.48%.
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.