If an ex-dividend date is September 7....

Do I have to be the holder of the stock at market open on the 7th, or market close on the 7th, or some time in between, to be entitled to the dividend?

Thank you.

 

09/03/2021 -Monday the 6th is a holiday and you have to buy it before the 7th.

 

And when do they drop the stock price by the amount of the dividend?

I get a feeling I need to hold it through the opening bell on the 7th, the stock price is dropped by the amount of the dividend at the open, and then I can sell it one minute after the opening and still get the dividend. Sound right?

 

If a stock goes X-Div on the 7th, it will adjust to the dividend on the 7th.

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Would that be the trade date of the 7th, and not necessarily the calendar date of the 7th?

 

I do not see the difference.

 

Thanks Robert. So I think that is the opening on the 7th, correct? So I have to own it immediately prior to the opening, it opens ex-dividend, and then I can sell anytime thereafter on the 7th and still get the dividend, correct?

 

For instance, an after-hours, pre-midnight trade.

 

With Lightspeed, the trading day ends at 8pm ET. If you bought a stock the trading day before X-Date, and at end of the day you have that long, you will get the dividend on the pay date.

 

You have to own the stock at least since the previous trading day of the 7th. It has nothing to do (semantically) with the opening on the 7th.
If you sell the stock the previous trading day of the 7th, you won't get the dividend.
If you sell the stock on or after the 7th, you will get it.