The SEC has approved a change to the NYSE’s rules which requires listed companies to provide dividend notifications to the Exchange at least 10 minutes prior to disseminating them publicly when the notification is made outside of Exchange trading hours of 7:00 a.m. ET and the end of the NYSE trading session (4:00 p.m. ET). Companies providing this advance notification to the Exchange will not be required to wait for Exchange approval before issuing their announcements.
No change is being made to the NYSE’s rules with respect to dividends between 7:00 a.m. ET and the end of the NYSE trading session.
You can find more information here.
Although the SEC has approved the rule change, it is not yet effective. According to this blast email from the NYSE, the Exchange will notify issuers when the changes have gone into effect. The email also includes a nice chart comparing the current rules and the rules as modified.
