Based on the trend of dividend payout ratio from 1986 to 2004 in Taiwan, it appears the companies have experienced two different stages of cash dividend policies. Before 1997, the cash dividend payout ratio declines slowly. But starting 1998, the payout ratio raises substantially, and the sum of cash dividend appears the same trend. Investigate the companies that pay cash dividend out, discover that they concentrate on those make a earning, and focus on those have high profit year by year. The sample is selected from listed companies in Taiwan Stock Market from 1988 to 2004 , not including financial and utility companies. This thesis uses binary logistic regression to test the relationship between company¡¦s characteristics and paying cash dividend, and survey whether this characteristics are the reason to make the cash dividend payout ratio raises quickly. The result of this research found that there is positive relationship between the payout of cash dividend, the company size, profitable ability, and free cash flow ratio. Moreover, there is negative relationship between the payout of cash dividend, growing opportunity, and liability ratio. But among the two variables measuring the growing opportunity, the asset growing ratio has a better interpretation in the earlier stage; and the market-to-book ratio does in the later stage. On the base period of 1988 to 1997, use binary logistic regression and portfolios to set up a model to fit the cash dividend policies. The overall empirical evidence implies the company¡¦s characteristic don¡¦t change the companies¡¦ tendency of paying cash dividend. In other words, the phenomenon of cash dividend payout ratio raising actually is caused by the increasing fundamental tendency of the sample companies paying cash dividend.

The dividend payout policy is a very debated topic, in this thesis the differences between Sweden and Vietnam will be examined. By examine two different countries with more or less the same landmass, but regarding economic, culture and politics they differ highly.   The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were a difference between the countries in dividend payout ratios, to see if the countries payout a high or a low dividend during the years 2005 to 2012. The second purpose was to examine if there was a significant differences in the movements in the markets. The third purpose was to examine how the two countries acted during the financial crisis, if the dividend payout ratio changed. This may tell how the policies in the two countries differ and how long term or short term the firms within the countries were planning and which kind of investors they are attracting. The data being used is collected historical data from firms with in each of the countries. The thesis follows a quantitative research method based on a deductive and an inductive approach. The research design is comparative for examination of two the countries data samples and for the purposes descriptive and explanatory studies have been done. In order to determine whether there is a relationship between the countries dividend payout ratio, the normality of the data sample have been examined, showing that the data were not normal distributed. Therefor the data were examined with a Mann- Whitney test and by a Kruskal- Wallis test.   The result indicates that there is a difference between the countries in dividend payout ratios in the case of Vietnam and Sweden under the years 2005 to 2012. Comparing countries together between the years to determine possible differences, the dividend payout ratio was insignificant in 2005 to 2008, but significant in the years 2009 to 2012. The examination of Vietnam and Sweden separately with years as factors the dividend payouts in Vietnam showed a significant difference but an insignificant result in Sweden during the year 2005 to 2008. Further, the results showed that there is a difference between the years in Sweden between 2009 to 2012 but no differences in Vietnam under the same years.

Följande uppsats undersöker hur svensk utbetalningspolitik har utvecklats under åren 1992-2012. Urvalet består av de företag som under våren 2014 var noterade på Stockholmsbörsens “Large”, “Mid” eller “Small Cap” lista. Återköpens andel av den totala utbetalningsandelen visar sig inte vara lika hög som andra internationella studier har visat. Det är istället utdelningarna som utgör merparten av de totala utbetalningarna. Däremot så har andelen företag som enbart delar ut minskat trots att utdelningarna ökat, vilket också styrks av resultat från tidigare studier. Lägre nettoresultat under finanskrisen följs av minskade utbetalningar under 2008-2009. Återköpen minskar under denna period markant till att i stort sätt utebli, vilket bekräftar tidigare studier. / This paper provides evidence on Swedish payout policy during the past 20 years (1992-2012). The sample data consists of companies that were listed on Stockholm Stock Exchange (SSE) “Large”, “Mid” or “Small Cap” list during spring 2014. We show that repurchases of shares still represents a small proportion of the total payout, which contradicts results from other international studies. The dividends therefore still constitute the bulk of the total payments. We document a drop in net income during the financial crisis followed by reduced payments during 2008-2009. Repurchases decrease significantly during this period to virtually absent; confirming previous studies that argue that repurchases are a more flexible payout method than dividends.

Vi undersöker om det finns ett samband mellan utländskt ägande och utdelningsnivå i svenska företag. Urvalet består av de 40 största företagen på Nasdaq OMX Stockholm under perioden 1999-2006. Studien visar att det finns ett negativt samband mellan utländskt ägande och direktavkastning, samt ett positivt samband mellan börsvärde och utländskt ägande. Vidare analys visar inget signifikant samband mellan utländskt ägande och börsvärde, samband beror således på mellanliggande variabler. Studien finner inget samband mellan utdelningsandel och utländskt ägande. / In this paper we examine the relationship between foreign ownership in Swedish firms and dividend yield amongst the 40 largest firms on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm between the years 1999-2006. We find evidence of a negative relation between foreign ownership and dividend yield, and furthermore a relation between foreign ownership and market capitalization. Further analysis shows that foreign ownership does not relate to market capitalization, thus the relation is due to intermediate variables. The paper finds no relation between payout ratio and foreign ownership.

Utdelningspolitik är ett ämne inom finansieringsområdet som har varit flitigt omdiskuterat under många år. Huruvida branschen som företaget är verksam inom har en inverkan på utdelningspolitiken eller inte är ett område som det finns relativt lite forskning inom. Forskare är oense om branschen påverkar företagens utdelningsbeslut. Vissa hävdar att det finns branscheffekter vilket gör att företagens utdelningspolitik påverkas av branschen och som resulterar i att utdelning tenderar att se olika ut mellan branscher. Det finns också forskare som exempelvis Higgins (1972) som påstår motsatsen och menar att branschen inte har någon större påverkan utan att företagen bestämmer utdelningspolitiken utifrån deras egen situation. Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka om det finns skillnader i utdelningspolitiken i sex olika branscher som jämförts. Det har gjorts genom att analysera utdelningsandelen från totalt 52 företag på OMX Stockholm under tidsperioden 2001-2011. För att jämföra om det finns skillnader mellan branscherna så har ett hypotestest och en regressionsanalys genomförts. Resultatet av undersökningen pekar på att det inte finns några skillnader mellan de undersökta branscherna, vilket tyder på en avsaknad av branscheffekter i utdelningspolitiken. / Payout policy is a controversial topic within corporate finance that has been discussed extensively for many years. Whether the industry that companies operate in has an impact on payout policy is an area that is less clear. Some researchers argue that there exist industry effects, which means that companies’ payout policy is influenced by the industries. On the contrary, there are also other researchers like Higgins (1972) who claim that industries do not have any impact on companies’ payout policy. Instead, companies decide the payout policy based on their own circumstances. This study aims to examine if there are any differences in payout policy among six different industries. By comparing the payout ratios of 52 companies from OMX Stockholm during the period 2001-2011, a hypothesis test and a regression analysis were performed. The result of the study indicates that there are no differences among these industries, which suggests a lack of industry effects in payout policy.

This study investigates the relationship between corporate sustainability and dividend policy in the Nordic countries. In the field of finance, the importance of corporate sustainability is growing, particularly in the Nordic countries, which excel in global sustainability rankings. In response to this occurrence many firms are increasingly incorporating sustainability into their operations, which in turn might affect the strategic decisions of these firms. One of these is the dividend policy decision. Dividend policy in the form of cash dividends is a central concept in finance and is affected by conservation of capital and time value of money. The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between sustainability and dividend policy, which the authors have done by including different theoretical arguments. These are grounded in the agency theory, the signaling theory and the stakeholder theory. Previous research such as Benlemlih (2019) has examined the relationship between sustainability and dividends, but not in the same regional setting. ESG is used as a proxy for sustainability, while two proxies are used for dividend policy; dividend payout ratio and dividend yield. Through a quantitative approach information is collected on the ESG score and dividend data using the Thomson Reuters Eikon database and then analyzed using regression analysis. The data spans over 10 years (2008-2018) and covers 117 firms with available ESG and dividend payout data.  The findings indicate that there is a significant relationship between the ESG score and the dividend payout ratio of Nordic firms, while the dividend yield has no relationship with the ESG score. As both measurements had positive coefficients, the authors determined that there is a positive relationship between sustainability and dividend policy. Based on the findings, the excess liquidity hypothesis was dismissed, while the authors concluded that there was support for and against the overinvesting hypothesis and the signaling hypothesis. The authors believe one possible explanation for these mixed results could be due to the regional setting, as it differs from the settings of previous studies. By illustrating the relationship between corporate sustainability and dividend policy, this study could be of interest to large and medium sized firms in the Nordic countries that use business strategies involving ESG practices or consider implementing such strategies. Similarly, it could be used by investors that use ESG-screening as a decision criterion when investing.

The aim of this study is to examine the dividend policy behavior of firms listed at Stockholm Stock Exchange from 2005-2011. We examine the behavior from a Market Cap (firm size) and industry classification (group characteristics) perspective due to the structure of Stockholm Stock Exchange, by using non-parametric methods and Lintner`s model. The conclusions are as follows: (i) Market Cap listing and industry classification matters for the propensity to pay dividends and we observe that firms in Mid Cap and Small Cap were more likely to pay dividends in 2011 than in 2005. (ii) Neither Market Cap listing nor industry classification affects the firms’ payout ratio. (iii) Market Cap listing affects the firms´ level of paid DPS (dividend per share) but not significantly when we compared firms in Large Cap to firms in Mid Cap. Industry classification affects the firms´ level of paid DPS. (iv) Current EPS (earnings per share) and past DPS are important factors for deciding current DPS when firms were classified into Market Caps, but not for all firms when they were classified into industries. (v) Firms follow regular but unstable dividend policies despite Market Cap listing. Firms in the Health Care industry follow irregular and unstable dividend policies while the firms in the other industries follow regular but unstable dividend policies.

Uppsatsen undersöker om det finns ett samband mellan företags aktieutdelningar och investeringsverksamhet. Urvalet för studien är de 30 största företagen noterade på Nasdaq OMX Stockholm för perioden 2000-2012. Företagen har valts med hänsyn till börsvärde i syfte att utröna eventuella skillnader för företagsstorlek samt branschtillhörighet. Studien finner negativa signifikanta samband mellan utdelningsandelen och investeringsverksamheten för studiens små företag samt för företag inom industrisektorn. / The paper examines whether there is a correlation between corporate dividends and investments. The sample for the study is the 30 largest companies listed on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm for the period 2000-2012. The companies have been chosen based by their market capitalization in order to determine any differences in company size and industry affiliation. For small companies and for companies in the industrial sector, the study finds significant negative correlation between the payout ratio and investment activities.

Den allmänna synen antyder att det föreligger ett negativt samband mellan utdelningsandel och framtida vinsttillväxt, där en hög utdelningsandel antas begränsa investeringsmöjligheter och således också vinsttillväxten. Senare tidens forskning har med stöd i empiri funnit att det i ett flertalet industrialiserade länder råder ett positivt samband mellan utdelningsandel och framtida vinsttillväxt både på företags- och marknadsnivå.Den här studien avser att undersöka om det föreligger ett positivt samband mellan utdelningsandel och framtida vinsttillväxt för svenska företag noterade på Stockholmsbörsen mellan år 1995 – 2011. Urvalet består av företag som är eller varit noterade på Stockholmsbörsen i minst fem år mellan dessa år.Studiens resultat visar att det skett en ökning av både utdelningsandelen och företagens vinster under de senaste decennierna. Resultatet bekräftar även senare tidens forskning att det råder ett positivt samband mellan utdelningsandel och framtida vinsttillväxt men också att det finns andra faktorer som påverkar vinsttillväxten. Studiens slutsats är att företag med en hög utdelningsandel tenderar att uppvisa en högre framtida vinsttillväxt. / The general view suggests that there is a negative correlation between dividend payout ratio and future earnings growth, where a high dividend payout ratio is assumed to limit investment opportunities and thus also limit earnings growth. In recent years, research has found that in a majority of industrialized countries there is a positive correlation between dividend payout ratio and future earnings growth, both at company and market level.This study aims to examine whether there is a positive correlation between dividend payout ratio and future earnings growth for Swedish companies listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange between 1995 and 2011. The sample consists of companies that have or have been listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange for at least five years between these years.The results of the study indicate that there has been an increase in both the dividend payout ratio and corporate profits in recent decades. The results also reaffirm recent research in that there is a positive correlation between dividend payout ratio and future earnings growth, but also that there are other factors that affect earnings growth. The study concludes that companies with a high dividend payout ratio tend to show higher future earnings growth.

The dividend payout policy is one of the most debated topics within corporate finance and some academics have called the company’s dividend payout policy an unsolved puzzle. Even though an extensive amount of research regarding dividends has been conducted, there is no uniform answer to the question: what are the determinants of the companies’ dividend payout ratios? We therefore decided to conduct a study regarding the determinants of the companies’ dividend payout ratios on large and medium cap on Stockholm stock exchange. The purpose of the study is to determine if there is a relationship between a number of company selected factors and the companies’ dividend payout ratios. A second purpose is to determine whether there are any differences between large and medium caps regarding the impact of the company selected factors. We therefore reviewed previous studies and dividend theories in order to conclude which factors that potentially could have an impact on the companies’ dividend payout ratios. Based on the literature, we decided to test the relationship between the dividend payout ratio and six company selected factors: free cash flow, growth, leverage, profit, risk and size. The data used in the research are secondary data collected during a time period of five years, between 2006 and 2010. The study follows a quantitative research method with a deductive approach and we have based the study on four dividend theories: the dividend irrelevance theory, the bird in hand theory, the signaling theory and the agency theory. In order to determine whether there is a relationship between the companies selected factors and the dividend payout ratio we conducted both an Ordinary least square (OLS) and a Tobit regression. Multicollinearity tests were also conducted in order to ascertain that no multicollinearity affected the results of the study. The results indicate that some of the company selected factors have an impact on the companies’ dividend payout ratios and there are some differences between large and medium caps. The dividend payout ratios of large caps have a significant relationship to free cash flow, growth and risk. While the dividend payout ratios of medium caps have a significant relationship to free cash flow, leverage, risk and size.