Own Realty Income By Sept. 30 to Qualify for Its Oct. 15 Dividend. Here's How Many Shares You'd Need for $1,251 in Yearly Dividends.
Key Points
Realty Income's next dividend will be paid on Oct. 15 to shareowners as of Sept. 30.
To get $1,251 in annual payouts, you'd need to buy about 385 shares.
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Realty Income Corp. (NYSE: O) is one of the best-known real estate investment trusts (REITs) around.
Like most REITs, it receives favorable tax treatment in exchange for paying out most of its operating income as dividends to its shareholders. That's why REITs have significant yields. Realty Income is currently yielding 5.2% on a trailing-12-month basis.
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Realty Income's next monthly dividend payment arrives Oct. 15. But in order to get that payment, you'd need to own shares by the "ex-dividend date" of Sept. 30.
Here's how many shares you'd need to own to get $1,251 in annual dividends from Realty Income.
Image source: Getty Images.
Why try for $1,251
Currently, the median income for full-time workers in the U.S. is about $1,251 per week. So it's a good benchmark to use for those who are thinking about replacing their wages with dividend income in retirement.
As of this writing, shares of Realty Income cost about $57 each, and the annual dividend -- which has increased every quarter for 115 consecutive quarters (more than 28 years) -- is $3.25 per share.
So in order to get $1,251 per year in dividends, you'd need 385 shares of Realty Income, which would currently cost you about $21,945.
That probably sounds like a big investment for just a week's worth of money, but remember, after that initial outlay of cash, you'll get $1,251 in the first year, and each year thereafter, you're likely to get more as the company continues to increase its dividend over time.
For example, if you'd bought 385 shares of Realty Income in 2015, it would have cost you about $19,878. But since then, you would have already made $12,298.44 in dividends: 61.9% of your initial investment!
That said, because Realty Income offers a monthly dividend payment, there's no rush to jump in all at once if you don't have the money available. There's always a new dividend payment just around the corner.
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John Bromels has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Realty Income. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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