Rule-Based Trading Systems

[capt_jmj]

It doesn't matter what the settlement date is for your trade. If you owned the stock on or before the ex-dividend date, you get the dividend, but you also get to pay tax on the dividend at ordinary income rates, and the stock price is then adjusted downward based on the dividend percentage. Normally not a good plan to buy a stock just before it pays a dividend, in that you will immediately incur a tax liability for the amount of the dividend.