RE:Understanding Ex-Dividend DatesThe ex-dividend (Oct 26th) is the date where you are not entitled to a dividend anymore. So, in this case, you will receive a dividend if you were a shareholder as of October 25th. If you sold shares on the day before the ex-dividend date (Oct 25th), you will not receive the special dividend for those shares. The settlement date is somewhat confusing, but it only means that there is a two days legal period before checking who are the shareholders. I guess that in the past, it meant that you had to bring your stock certificate to your broker. It is all electronic right now, so it is not a problem anymore.
In other words, it means that on Oct 27th, they will check who were the shareholders on Oct 25th at the end of the day. I guess some people were confused if we look at the difference between the closing prices on Oct 26th and Oct 27th. I guess some bought shares on Oct 26th thinking they would get the dividend, which explains why it held up until today….