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M&T Bank Corp (MTB) shares yielded over 3% during trading on Friday, with a quarterly dividend of $4.80, as the stock traded as low as $157.85. This S&P 500 company illustrates the importance of dividends in contributing to total returns in the stock market.
For context, an investment in the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) made on December 31, 1999, would have seen a share value decrease from $146.88 to $142.41 by December 31, 2012, yet generated $25.98 per share in dividends, resulting in a positive total return of 23.36% over that period.
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