dividend rate definition
<a href=http://www.investorglossary.com>Investor Glossary</a>. The dividend rate is the amount of dividends per share a company pays to stockholders over a period of time. If the board of directors of XYZ Company declares a quarterly dividend of 22 cents per common share, the quarterly dividend rate is $.22. Some companies pay quarterly dividends based on a stated annual dividend rate (in the example, the annual dividend rate would be $.88). Whether stated or not, a dividend rate is often annualized to present the most recent quarterly dividend on a full-year basis.