Question

Which of the following statements is CORRECT? a. Suppose a firm that has been earning $2 and paying a dividend of $1.00, or a 50% dividend payout, announces that it is increasing the dividend to $1.50. The stock price then jumps from $20 to $30. Some people would argue that this is proof that investors prefer dividends to retained earnings. Miller and Modigliani would agree with this argument. b. Other things held constant, the higher a firm's target dividend payout ratio, the higher its expected growth rate should be. c. Miller and Modigliani's dividend irrelevance theory says that the percentage of its earnings that a firm pays out in dividends has no effect on its cost of capital, but it does affect its stock price. d. The federal government sometimes taxes dividends and capital gains at different rates. Other things held constant, an increase in the tax rate on dividends relative to that on capital gains would logically lead to a decrease in dividend payout ratios. e. If investors prefer firms that retain most of their earnings, then a firm that wants to maximize its stock price should set a high dividend payout ratio

Answer 1

Dividend policies are financial decisions based on what a firm pays out to its shareholders in proportion from its earnings.

According to Modigliani's theory, in an utopian world without taxes o bankcrupcy cost, the dividend policy is irrelevant, and what a firm pays out in dividends is nugatory regarding the firm's stock price earnings.

Any paid out dividend from a common or priviledged stock is considered an "ordinary dividend", and ordinay dividends are taxed by the Federal Government depending on regular income tax rates. Thereby the most suitable statement would be d); "The federal government sometimes taxes dividends and capital gains..."