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The shares of metals major Vedanta jumped nearly 3% on Tuesday after the company’s board considered and approved a third interim dividend of Rs 11 per equity share for the ongoing financial year 2026.During its board meeting yesterday, the directors of the Anil Agarwal-led company approved the dividend payout cumulatively amounting to Rs 4,300 crore, the company announced in an exchange filing in the post market hours of Monday.Vedanta had already fixed Saturday, March 28, as the record date to determine the eligibility of shareholders set to receive the dividend. This means that an investor must own the shares of the company as on the record date to be eligible for the dividend.Vedanta is popular among investors for its dividend payouts, and has declared 49 dividends since July 23, 2001, according to Trendlyne data. At the current share price, Vedanta's dividend yield stands at more than 3.5%.Last year, the company had announced two interim dividends, Rs 16 in August and Rs 7 in June. 2024 was a bumper year in terms of dividend payouts, as the company announced four dividends cumulatively worth Rs 43.5 per share.Vedanta share priceVedanta shares jumped nearly 3% to Rs 664 apiece in the early trading hours of Tuesday. The stock later pared some gains and was trading at Rs 645.75 apiece. It has fallen nearly 6% in the past five days, and around 7% in the past one month. This comes after the stock surged 45% in the past six months.Earlier yesterday, the stock plunged after the Supreme Court last week upheld the Bombay High Court’s ruling that the conglomerate founded by industrialist Anil Agarwal is not entitled to procure high-speed diesel (HSD) at concessional rates against Form C.The high court had found that Vedanta used HSD for purposes other than mining, including resale to transporters and private parties. It noted that the company’s tax registration certificate restricted the use of fuel to the running and maintenance of machinery for mining and processing iron ore for sale.Additionally, Vedanta moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), challenging the National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) approval of the Adani Group’s bid to acquire Jaiprakash Associates Ltd for Rs 14,535 crore. In November last year, a Committee of Creditors (CoC) approved Gautam Adani’s resolution plan to acquire Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) through the insolvency process, after Adani Enterprises outbid Vedanta and Dalmia Bharat.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)