Strategy’s ( MSTR ) perennial favorite, STRC, is down 3% during Friday’s premarket session and is trading below $73, about 27% below its $100 face value, as investors focus on June 30, a date that brings two key events.
First, June 30 is the ex-dividend date. Investors who own shares before the ex-dividend date will receive the next payment, while buyers on June 30 or later will not. The date also serves as the record date when Strategy shareholders qualify for the distribution. Eligible investors will receive STRC’s first semi-monthly dividend of $0.48 per share on July 15th.
Usually, a stock falls by roughly the size of its dividend when it starts trading ex-dividend. For STRC, a $0.48 adjustment on a $73 stock represents less than 0.7% at a time when STRC is falling as much as 2-3% per day. So, in theory, the ex-dividend date shouldn’t be a big catalyst for further downside in the STRC price.
The biggest catalyst is Strategy’s monthly reset of the dividend rate. STRC is a perpetual preferred stock, meaning it has no expiration date and pays a dividend that resets periodically.
