Diversified Ownership Structure and Dividend Pay‑outs of Publicly Traded Companies

Abstract

The aim of this article is to identify and characterise the relationship between the ownership structure and dividend pay‑out of listed companies. The research hypothesis states that along with an increase in a degree of ownership concentration both the propensity to pay a dividend and its amount increase. The research has been conducted on a group of 354 non‑financial companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The basic research method is the analysis of logistic and tobit regression. The research shows that along with an increase in the complexity of the ownership structure, the share of the State Treasury, institutional investors and board members, decisions on dividend pay‑out are made more often, and the amount of dividend is higher. Examining the degree of ownership concentration expressed by the Herfindahl‑Hirschman index, diversified results have been obtained. An estimation of some regression models shows that stronger ownership concentration favours the decision to pay a dividend (dividends are paid out more frequently), however, as a degree of ownership concentration increases, a decrease in the amount of dividend is observed. The research results presented in this article are a supplement to the existing analyses carried out on the global markets and an extension of the existing research conducted on the companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Keywords

• dividend policy
• ownership structure
• managerial ownership
• institutional ownership
• state ownership
• the wse