Finding dividend information

The ICAEW Library has compiled this guide to help everyone to find the dividend information they need.

The Library enquiry team can also help ICAEW members, ACA students and other authorised users with requests for dividend data, providing a high quality information service for UK & Irish Dividends, Unit Trust distributions, British government stocks, and capital histories.

ICAEW members can request details of dividends for a small number of companies for free, either over the phone on +44 (0)20 7920 8620, or via email at library@icaew.com.

The UK and Irish Dividend and Interest Service (formerly the UK and Irish Dividend and Interest Record, and before that the UK Dividend and Interest Record), currently published by ICE, is the most comprehensive record of dividend and interest announcements for securities listed on the London Stock Exchange (including AIM) and the Irish Stock Exchange.

Each annual volume is broken down into:

• UK and Irish listed securities;
• Authorised unit trusts and open ended investment companies.

The Library holds a complete set of the annual volumes from 1982/83 to the current tax year, with a loose-leaf updating service that adds the latest dividends, unit trust distributions, and British Government stocks three times per year.

The most recent volumes are held in the Library office, and can be consulted on request; earlier volumes are held in an off-site store. For full holdings information, please see the relevant catalogue entries. If you wish to consult the earlier volumes in person, please let us know well in advance of your visit so that we can have these ready for you. Alternatively, the enquiry team can check these volumes for you to find the information you need.

Extel Statistical Services Ltd. published the annual Dividend Record volume prior to 1982/83, and the Library holds a complete set from 1967/68 to 1981/82.

All volumes of this title are held in an off-site store. If you wish to consult any of these volumes in person, please let us know well in advance of your visit so that we can have these ready for you. Alternatively, the enquiry team can check these volumes for you to find the information you need.

The London Stock Exchange Daily Official List (DOL) has a column marked 'Pay', which indicates the date on which the latest announced dividend was/will be paid. The List also gives the amount of the latest announced dividend, expressed either as an actual amount or as a percentage.

The ICAEW Library holds the List from January 1967 to December 2003 (with the exception of the period 1972-1975) on microfilm/microfiche. However, the Library is currently unable to provide access to its microfilm collection. We apologise for any inconvenience.

The Guildhall Library holds the List from 1899 to the present day in various formats.

The List is also published online as eDOL — see below for more information.

An alternative source for dividend information was first published in 1975 with the title 'Stubbs securities taxation - UK dividends and share issues - income tax service'. This source was subsequently published — under various titles — by Dun & Bradstreet, the Financial Times, and latterly by Interactive Data (as part of the Securities Taxation Service).

Editions of the UK Dividends and Share Issues volume contain sections on equity dividends, unit trust distributions, preference dividends, fixed interest payments and share issues.

Please note that the ICAEW Library no longer holds this series.

The London Stock Exchange Weekly Official Intelligence (WOI) ceased being published in print in 2005; it is now published only in electronic format, as eWOI (see below).

Each print edition listed dividends as they were announced, and included an Ex Dividend list for the coming week (providing the date, currency and whether the dividend was an interim or final). Also included were listings of Australian dividends taken from the Sydney and/or Melbourne Stock Exchange dividend statistics.

The ICAEW Library does not hold this series. However, the Guildhall Library holds this publication from April 1955 to December 2005 (with the exception of January-October 1975).

As mentioned above, dividend information is available through eDOL, an electronic version of the London Stock Exchange’s Daily Official List (DOL).

The List has a column marked 'Pay', which indicates the date on which the latest announced dividend was/will be paid. It also gives the amount of the latest announced dividend, expressed either as an actual amount or as a percentage.

Copies of eDOL are available either via subscription or through one-off purchase.

The London Stock Exchange's Electronic Weekly Official Intelligence (eWOI) lists dividends as they are announced, and includes an Ex Dividend list for the coming week. It also contains a Dividend and Shutting section, which covers all UK listed equity dividend and interest amounts (including Government Stocks) with a payment date that is within six months of the date of issue of the eWOI. The data given here includes payment date, amount, currency, Ex date and record date.

In addition, each issue provides listings of Australian dividends, covering all equity payments and Rights Issues announced on the ASX website during the period from the Wednesday of the previous week through to the Tuesday before publication.

A range of dividend information is freely accessible via Yahoo Finance.

To view an overview of the latest dividend information available for a particular company, navigate to the company's profile page, click 'Statistics', then scroll down to the 'Dividends & Splits' section.

Historical dividend information — with varying temporal coverage — can be accessed via the 'Historical Data' tab on a company's profile page. Use the 'Time Period' drop-down menu to select your desired date range, and the 'Show' menu to limit the results to dividends only. Historical datasets can be downloaded in CSV format.

Many companies provide dividend information through their own online channels. Some companies provide this data via a 'corporate' or 'investor' section of their main website, whilst others make such information available through a dedicated corporate microsite.

Directories of companies on the internet, such as AnnualReports.com, are a good starting point for locating companies and their financial information. You can find other suggestions in our guide to sources for annual reports.