in the past. Rather than increasing dividends, many firms now use repurchases as an alternative. Paying out with … repurchases is viewed by managers as being more flexible than using dividends, permitting a better opportunity to optimize … preference between dividends and repurchases. In general, management views provide at most moderate support for agency, signaling …

large firms. It is concentrated among firms that do not pay dividends. The average cash ratio increases over the sample …

less likely to pay dividends, are more likely to repurchase shares, and they use proportionally more long-term, as opposed …