In trading on Wednesday, shares of Exxon Mobil were yielding above the 4% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $3.52), with the stock changing hands as low as $87.25 on the day.

Dividends are particularly important for investors to consider because historically speaking dividends have provided a considerable share of the stock market’s total return.

To illustrate, suppose for example you purchased shares of the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) back on 12/31/1999 — you would have paid $146.88 per share.

Fast forward to 12/31/2012 and each share was worth $142.41 on that date, a decrease of $4.67/share over all those years.

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