In trading on Monday, shares of Ford Motor were yielding above the 5% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $0.6), with the stock changing hands as low as$11.98 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 for ...