[MikeDelta]

Dividend paying stock has no limitations on growth compared to non div-paying stock. However when (cash) div-paying stock goes ex div, the stock price drops with that amount.

(Even reporters sometimes forget about that and try to find reasons what news caused a stock to drop instantly.)

[venusenvy47]

What is the mechanicism that drops the price? Does the market automatically adjust the ask price? Or do buyers instantly start offering a lower price at that moment?

[quickthrowman]

Market makers drop the bid/ask by the ex-dividend amount immediately after it is announced, or arbitrageurs short the stock when the ex-dividend amount is announced and then they cover their short once the ‘overvalued’ stock they sold is back at fair value.

[atombender]

In the US, the price adjustment is done by the stock exchange itself; the price on open is adjusted exactly by the dividend amount. It's not some collective emergent behavior of the market. (I don't know what non-US exchanges do.)