Looking at the universe of stocks we cover at Dividend Channel, on 11/18/14, Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT), Microsoft Corporation (NASD: MSFT), and Moody's Corp. (NYSE: MCO) will all trade ex-dividend for their respective upcoming dividends. Plantronics, Inc. will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.15 on 12/10/14, Microsoft Corporation will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.31 on 12/11/14, and Moody's Corp. will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.28 on 12/10/14.
As a percentage of PLT's recent stock price of $51.50, this dividend works out to approximately 0.29%, so look for shares of Plantronics, Inc. to trade 0.29% lower — all else being equal — when PLT shares open for trading on 11/18/14. Similarly, investors should look for MSFT to open 0.62% lower in price and for MCO to open 0.28% lower, all else being equal.
Below are dividend history charts for PLT, MSFT, and MCO, showing historical dividends prior to the most recent ones declared.
Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT):
In general, dividends are not always predictable, following the ups and downs of company profits over time. Therefore, a good first due diligence step in forming an expectation of annual yield going forward, is looking at the history above, for a sense of stability over time. This can help in judging whether the most recent dividends from these companies are likely to continue. If they do continue, the current estimated yields on annualized basis would be 1.17% for Plantronics, Inc., 2.49% for Microsoft Corporation, and 1.11% for Moody's Corp..
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In Friday trading, Plantronics, Inc. shares are currently down about 0.2%, Microsoft Corporation shares are up about 0.5%, and Moody's Corp. shares are off about 0.3% on the day.
