Usually, a quotation is set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma; however, the typography of quoted material can become quite complicated. Here is one simple rule to remember: In the United States, periods and commas go inside quotation marks regardless of logic.
NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- The ex-dividend date for General Electric (NYSE: GE) is tomorrow, February 21, 2013. Owners of shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 19 cents per share. At a price of $23.75 as of 9:31 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 3.3%.
An ex-dividend date is dictated by stock exchange rules and is usually set to be two business days before the record date. In order for an investor to receive a dividend payment on the listed payment date, he would have to have his stock purchase completed by the ex-dividend date. If the stock sale has not been completed by the ex-dividend date, then the seller on record is the one who receives the dividend for that stock. So, for example, if a record date is set for May 30th, the ex-dividend date would typically be set for the 28th of May.