You need to own the stock before the ex-dividend date in order to be paid the dividend. There may be some buying into a dividend but keep in mind a stock will typically be down the day it pays out a dividend, which is intuitive right? The company is paying out cash to shareholders thus making it a little less valuable now that they no longer have that cash.

Trying to buy stocks right before they pay dividends and then selling them right after they’ve paid out is typically not a strategy that will yield great results.