CH14 TB PAYOUT POLICY Flashcards
Payout policy refers to the decisions that firms make about whether to distribute cash to shareholders, how much cash to distribute, and by what means the cash should be distributed.
T or F?
TRUE
Rapidly growing firms pay high dividends to shareholders.
T or F?
FALSE
Dividends are the only means by which firms can distribute cash to shareholders.
T or F?
FALSE
Share repurchases
Companies can distribute cash to shareholders through dividends or share repurchases, but they rarely do both.
T or F?
FALSE
Because retained earnings are a form of internal financing, the dividend decision can significantly affect a firm’s external financing requirements.
T or F?
TRUE
In the aggregate, firms distribute far more cash to shareholders by paying dividends than they do by repurchasing shares.
T or F?
FALSE
In the U.S. over the last 40 years or so, in the aggregate ________.
A) the dollar volume of share repurchases has been growing faster than the volume of dividend payments
B) the dollar volume of dividend payments has been growing faster than the volume of share repurchases
C) the dollar volume of dividend payments and share repurchases have been growing at about the same pace
D) firms have been cutting back on share repurchase activities
A
In the aggregate, over time dividend payments tend to fluctuate more than share repurchases.
T or F?
FALSE
In the aggregate and over a long period of time ________.
A) earnings grow faster than dividends
B) earnings and dividends grow at a similar pace
C) earnings grow more slowly than dividends
D) dividend payments exceed earnings
B
When firms’ earnings fluctuate, they tend to adjust their payout policy by ________.
A) allowing dividends to fluctuate while holding share repurchases relatively steady
B) allowing share repurchases to fluctuate while holding dividends relatively steady
C) adjusted both dividends and share repurchases so the total payout as a percentage of earnings remains relatively steady
D) stop paying dividends and repurchasing shares
B
Over many years, share repurchases have accounted for an increasing percentage of the total cash paid out by firms to shareholders.
T or F?
TRUE
After a recession when the economy starts to expand again, firms tend to ________.
A) increase share repurchases faster than they increase dividends
B) increase dividends faster than they increase share repurchases
C) increase share repurchases and dividends at a similar rate
D) increase dividends and hold share repurchases constant until they are confident that the recovery will last for a few years
A
Holders of record are stockholders whose names are recorded on the date of record receive the declared dividend.
T or F?
TRUE
Purchasers of a stock selling ex dividend receive the current dividend.
T or F?
FALSE
The date of record (dividends) is the actual date on which a company will mail the dividend payment to the holders of record.
T or F?
FALSE
Date of payment
The dividend payment date is set by a firm’s board of directors and represents the actual date on which the firm mails the dividend payment to the holders of record.
T or F?
TRUE
The payment date is five days after the date of record, on which the company will mail the dividend payment to the holders of record.
T or F?
FALSE
The ex dividend period begins four business days prior to the payment date.
T or F?
FALSE
Two business days
The payment of cash dividends to corporate stockholders is decided based on the recommendation of the auditors.
T or F?
FALSE
The repurchase of common stock results in a type of reverse dilution, since the earnings per share increases as the number of shares outstanding falls.
T or F?
TRUE
The repurchase of shares reduces the number of outstanding shares.
T or F?
TRUE
In a tender offer share repurchase, a firm announces the price it is willing to pay to buy back shares and the quantity of shares it wishes to repurchase.
T or F?
TRUE
With the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, dividends paid by corporations are not taxable at the shareholder level.
T or F?
FALSE
The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 significantly reduced the double taxation of dividends.
T or F?
TRUE
By purchasing shares through a firm’s dividend reinvestment plan (or DRIP), shareholders typically can acquire shares at a value that is below the prevailing market price.
T or F?
TRUE
By purchasing shares through a firm’s dividend reinvestment plan (or DRIP), shareholders typically can acquire shares at a value that is above the prevailing market price.
T or F?
FALSE
lower
Dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs) enable stockholders to use dividends received on a firm’s stock to acquire additional shares—even fractional shares—at little or no transaction (brokerage) cost.
T or F?
TRUE
In theory, when a stock begins to trade ex dividend, the price of the stock should drop by roughly the amount of the dividend.
T or F?
TRUE
When common stock is repurchased and retired, the underlying motive is to ________.
A) delay taxes
B) boost the stock’s dividends
C) distribute cash to the owners
D) reduce the retained earnings balance
C
Which of the following type of firms are most likely to pay cash dividends?
A) rapidly growing firms
B) firms encouraging innovation
C) large mature firms
D) firms expanding their operations
C
At a firm’s quarterly dividend meeting held April 9, the directors declared a $0.50 per share cash dividend for the holders of record on Monday, May 19. The firm’s stock will sell ex dividend on about ________.
A) April 11
B) April 9
C) May 19
D) May 17
D
The term ex dividend refers to ________.
A) a period beginning 2 business days prior to the date of record, during which a stock is sold without the right to receive the current dividend
B) the date on which all investors whose names are recorded as stockholders receive a declared dividend at a specified future time
C) a period beginning 7 business days prior to the date of record, during which a stock is sold without the right to receive the current dividend
D) the actual date on which a firm mails the dividend payment to the holders of record
A
The payment of cash dividends to corporate stockholders is decided by the ________.
A) creditors
B) stockholders
C) SEC
D) board of directors
D
In a(n) ________, a firm specifies a range of prices that it is willing to repurchase shares and the quantity of shares that it desires.
A) Dutch auction
B) tender offer
C) American option
D) self-tender offer
A
In a(n) ________, a firm announces the price it is willing to pay to buy back shares and the quantity of shares it wishes to repurchase.
A) Dutch auction
B) tender offer
C) American option
D) European auction
B
A tender offer repurchase is a repurchase program in which a firm ________.
A) offers to repurchase a fixed number of shares, usually at a discount relative to the market value
B) offers to repurchase a fixed number of shares, usually at a premium relative to the market value
C) offers to repurchase a fixed number of shares, usually at par relative to the market value
D) has a right to repurchase a fixed number of shares at a premium relative to the market value
B
Which of the following is a reason for a firm for repurchasing its shares?
A) to diminish the shareholder value by increasing the number of shares outstanding and thereby raising earnings per share
B) to help encourage a friendly takeover by increasing the number of publicly traded shares
C) to distribute cash to stockholders
D) to make shares available for cash dividends
C
The net effect of a stock repurchase is ________.
A) similar to an interest payment
B) similar to a cash dividend
C) similar to a stock split
D) similar to a reverse stock split
B
Which of the following is true of a dividend payout?
A) When a firm announces that it will increase its dividend, the share price usually decreases on that news.
B) Dividend payments send a positive signal to investors in the marketplace that management believes that the stock is overvalued.
C) When a stock begins to trade ex dividend the share price will fall.
D) When a stock begins to trade ex dividend there is no impact on the share price if the market. is efficient
C
Which of the following methods can be utilized by a firm when it wants to purchase outstanding shares of common stock?
A) a purchase of stock through private placement
B) a tender offer at varying prices
C) a tender offer at a specified price
D) an European auction plan
C
Repurchase of stock ________ the earnings per share and ________ the market price of stock.
A) increases; increases
B) decreases; decreases
C) increases; decreases
D) decreases; increases
A
In a Dutch auction, ________.
A) a firm offers to repurchase a fixed number of shares, at a discount
B) a firm offers to repurchase a fixed number of shares, at a premium
C) a firm specifies a range of prices at which it is willing to repurchase shares and the quantity of shares that it desires
D) a firm enables stockholders to use dividends received on the firm’s stock to acquire additional shares
C
Under the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, the maximum rate of taxation on dividends received by shareholders was set at ________.
A) 18%
B) 20%
C) 25%
D) 15%
D
A dividend reinvestment plan enables stockholders to ________.
A) reinvest the dividends in money market instruments which are risk free
B) reinvest all dividends in the firm with no accompanying increase in equity
C) acquire additional dividends through redemption of stock
D) acquire shares at little or no transaction costs
D
The stock repurchase can be viewed as a cash dividend.
T or F?
TRUE
The residual theory of dividends suggests that the dividend paid by a firm should be viewed as a residual, the amount left over after all acceptable investment opportunities have been undertaken.
T or F?
TRUE