Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see U.S. Bancorp ( NYSE:USB ) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. This means that investors who purchase U.S. Bancorp's shares on or after the 28th of September will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 16th of October.