How are dividends calculated?

[readytorock]

A few months ago I started investing in my first Mutual Fund, TGMNX, which has a ten year annual average return of +7.28%.

So far, I'm very happy with the investment.

For the last few months it's paid out 7 cent dividends per share.

I'm curious if this dividend is a fixed amount, or based on the Fund's performance during that month, or some other factor?

And is there a way to search Mutual Funds by dividend amount? I use E-Trade and don't see any search functions for that.

Thanks.

[LuxLiving]

Rate of return - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A dividend is a share of the profits from the business. There you would look for the yield.

Corporate Dividend Policy, Dividend Payout Ratio and Dividend Yield