Josephat Lotto

Dividend Puzzle: Does Lintner's Model Support Corporate Dividend Payments? Josephat Lotto

While we are still in the dilemma yet to have a consensus in our understanding of dividends, the empirical modeling of dividend policy has overwhelmingly relied on the model proposed by Lintner (1956). Despite the huge literature in dividends, a number of key issues remain unresolved and clear guidelines for an ?optimal payout policy? have not emerged. The aim of this manuscript is to assess whether Lintner?s dividend model supports dividend payments in corporate firms. In attempt to test whether the Lintner?s model explains the dividend payments of the corporate firms, the manuscript tries to answer the following questions; Do corporate firms have long-term target dividend payout ratios?, Do managers focus more on dividend changes than on absolute levels?, Does Dividend follow a smoother path than earnings? And Are managers reluctant to make changes to dividends that might have to be reversed?