After slashing its annual dividend from $0.60 per share in 2019 to $0.15 per share in 2020 and then again to $0.10% in 2021, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) has hit the gas pedal in the past couple of years, hiking the payout higher. While the stock offers an enticing forward-yielding dividend of 4.8%, income investors are likely a little cautious about driving Ford stock into their portfolios considering the recent inconsistency in the payout.

It's certainly a valid point to wonder if the company is jeopardizing its financial security to placate shareholders, so let's take a closer look at how much Ford plans on paying out in dividends in 2024 to better assess the company's financial health.

With approximately 4 billion shares outstanding, and assuming it returns a dividend of $0.78 per share in 2024 -- based on the special cash dividend of $0.18 per share it paid in Q1 as well as four quarterly payments of $0.15 per share -- Ford will pay out about $3.12 billion in dividends this year. For context, Ford paid out $5 billion in dividends in 2023 and $2 billion in 2022.

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Source Fool.com