Tag Archives: equities

When Will I See My Dividend Payments in my CIBC Investor’s Edge Account?

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A bit over a month ago, May 28 2013 to be exact, I put in an order to buy some Cineplex shares for our Investor’s Edge account. I thought that I had made the purchase the day before the stock went ex-dividend. The sale settled on May 31 as expected. Then I started waiting for the end of June and the first monthly dividend payment. I wondered exactly when I would see my dividend payment appear in my CIBC brokerage account.

Why Test Using Cineplex?

Cineplex was a good stock for this test because it pays a dividend each month to shareholders on record on a date near the end of the previous month. There are quite a few companies that pay dividends monthly which can make a useful income stream for investors as I described in Using Dividend Paying Stocks to Create Monthly Income.

The fact that Cineplex has gone up over $2 a share since we bought was an unplanned but not unexpected bonus. Monsters U and Despicable Me, too, anyone?!

When was Cineplex Due to Pay?

According to their press release, Cineplex said it would pay “$0.12 per share for the month of May 2013, payable on June 28, 2013, to shareholders of record on May 31, 2013.”

So in theory since our shares settled on May 31, we should have received a dividend payment on June 28, 2013.

With BMO InvestorLine the actual dividend payment usually lands in my cash account one day after it was payable. It shows up in the transaction history back dated to the previous day, as I described in What is in the Transaction History for a BMO InvestorLine Account and What Should I Watch Out for?

Did the Payment Appear in my Transaction History on June 28? 29? 30? Canada Day?

No.

I wasn’t surprised that the dividend payment did not appear in my CIBC brokerage account or in the Investor’s Edge transaction history on Friday June 28.

I wasn’t even particularly surprised that it didn’t show up on Saturday or Sunday. And then Monday was Canada Day.

(Dividend transactions do appear in our InvestorLine accounts on the weekend,  though, back dated to the proper date.)

I gave it one last check very early Tuesday July 2. Still nothing.

That’s when I decided I must have somehow missed the Date of Record. Maybe a settlement date of May 31 did not equal a Record Date of May 31. Although I had thought it did.

When Did I Receive the Dividend?

Fast forward to Monday July 8. Refreshed after a few days in northern south eastern Ontario paddling among the muskrats and loons, I sat back down in front of a computer. Logging in to our CIBC account, I was surprised to find we DID receive the payment for the May Cineplex dividend.

How Does the Dividend Show Up in the CIBC Investor’s Edge Transaction History?

The transaction history reports:

  • In the Date column
    • T July 2: I believe that means transaction date, based on other items.
    • S July 2: Settlement date. Ditto.
  • In the Curr column
    CAD
  • In the Type column
    Dividend
  • In the Description column
    Cash div on 100 shares rec 05/31/13 pay 06/30/13
  • In the Symbol column
    CGX:CDN
  • In the Quantity column
    nothing was reported
  • In the Price column
    nothing was reported
  • In the Amount column
    $12.00

I found the dates a bit confusing.

  • Rec does not mean Received. It means Date of Record, May 31, 2013.
  • Pay, though, is not listed as Friday June 28 per the press release, but as Sunday June 30. I’m not sure why it says that.
  • July 2 is apparently when the money was put into our cash account. I didn’t see it there first thing on the 2, but it may have appeared later that day or before the start of trading on July 3.

Possibly the June 30 date was used simply because it is the last day of the month. The Cineplex dividend is usually payable the last day of the month if that day is a business day. If not, they usually move it up to the last business day.

A Probable Explanation for the Delay in Dividend Payment

I suspect the cause of the delayed dividend payment was confusion. This was the first dividend earned by this stock since we purchased it. I expect that second and subsequent dividend payments will be credited much more quickly to our account.

Testing, Testing 1, 2, 3

I guess I’ll have to keep an eye on the account and see what happens this month.

According to the Cineplex Press Release, the June dividend payable to owners on record on June 28, 2013 is payable on July 31, 2013. Since the 31 is a Wednesday, the dividend could appear on the 31, or on August 1 or later.

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Verizon on the Horizon: Time to Dump Bell?!

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I find the stock market fascinating to watch. It’s like a giant psychology experiment being broadcast simultaneously on radio, TV, websites and podcasts. Take this week. Verizon has made some clear steps towards trying to enter the Canadian mobile phone cartel, er, business. Immediately, the share price of Bell stock plunged off a cliff. What are the Sellers thinking? Is it really time to dump Bell?

CRTC Face Slap to Mobile Telephone Companies

Admittedly, Canadian mobile phone companies haven’t had a great spring. The CRTC is starting to get just how angry consumers are with the high cost of cell phone usage, especially data and roaming usage, in Canada as compared to other countries. They brought in some rather wishy-washy rules that will be implemented over the next year or so. These rules could reduce profits for the teleco’s.

The rules say things like “cell phone carriers must unlock a phone if asked.” The rules don’t actually say they must unlock the phone for free.

Service Providers must stop locking in customers to three-year contracts. But they don’t actually say the price can’t go up on the new maximum two-year contracts.

The rules say customers can’t be charged more than a certain amount for roaming. But they don’t say the customer can get to keep making roaming calls for free. It appears the service provider can simply cut off coverage once the maximum spending level is reached.

You can see I’m a bit skeptical that the new rules will greatly reduce the profits made by cell phone and mobile data providers.

However, it sure looks like many investors are nervous about the changes. The price for BCE shares has been dropping steadily since part way through May. It’s down over $6 a share or more than 10%; $2 of that hit was caused by the Verizon announcement.

Verizon Is Coming! Consumers Rejoice! Telco’s Tremble!

When Verizon announced it had made a tentative offer for Wind Mobile panic hit the stock market. This must signal the end of the obscene profits to be made off wireless communication. Telus, Bell, and other telecom’s stock dropped sharply.

Does this make sense to you?

Verizon didn’t announce they had bought Wind Mobile. They didn’t announce they had Canadian federal government approval for the purchase. They didn’t announce they were opening business tomorrow and that they were planning to drop mobile rates by 50%. In fact, so far absolutely nothing has happened.

Will a New Player Drop Prices and Profits for Mobile Usage in Canada?

I’m old enough to remember when Walmart came to Canada. It was said that they would drive down prices all across the country.

Did they?

Maybe. I can usually find the same price or better at Canadian Tire or, previously, at Zellers.

Then Target came to town. I read through their first few flyers. Their “sale” prices were higher than the regular prices at many stores I shop at. Price comparisons done between the same items in the US and in Canada showed the Canadian prices are higher. Krystal Yee at Give Me Back My Five Bucks has some great examples.

It’s quite possible that if another cell phone company opens up in Canada that they may drop the prices by increasing competition. It’s also possible they may just join the party and enjoy the same over-inflated prices from which all the existing companies profit.

Should I Sell my Bell and Telus Stock Immediately?!

You can. It’s a free market. And you have a 50% chance of making the correct decision.

Me, I bought some Bell this week. At $2.33/share in annual dividends (which means a yield of over 5%) I’m prepared to take a risk that the Bell empire is not yet declining much less fallen.

DISCLAIMER: I’m not trained in financial matters nor am I in any way qualified to give financial advice. The BNS stock I bought is currently down almost 10% meaning I have lost about $1000 so far. Please get advice from someone who makes a profit before making your own investment decisions!

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