Using a unique Swedish database that records the ultimate stockholdings in public firms, we decompose stock ownership by domiciles using votes rather than cashflows. We then study the impact of variables related to the lifecycle theory of dividends and the catering theory of dividends. We also examine the propensity of firms to pay dividends and/or activate a stock buyback program. Univariate analysis reveals a positive association between a firm’s maturity and its likelihood to pay dividends. Logistic regression finds a positive relation between payouts and retained earnings to total assets. Foreign institutional investors are less likely to hold dividend-paying stocks than domestic institutional investors. The analysis finds no support for the catering theory of dividends. After controlling for stock ownership, our evidence is consistent with the lifecycle theory of dividends, which states that more mature firms are associated with dividends. It also supports the transaction cost hypothesis claiming that foreign investors face additional administrative costs when holding dividend-paying stocks.

使用记录上市公司最终持股的独特瑞典数据库，我们使用投票而不是现金流分解住所的股票所有权。然后我们研究了与红利生命周期理论和红利餐饮理论相关的变量的影响。我们还研究了公司支付股息和/或启动股票回购计划的倾向。单变量分析揭示了公司的成熟度与其支付股息的可能性之间的正相关。Logistic 回归发现支出和留存收益与总资产之间存在正相关关系。与国内机构投资者相比，境外机构投资者持有分红股票的可能性较小。分析发现不支持红利的餐饮理论。控制股权后，我们的证据与红利的生命周期理论一致，该理论指出，更成熟的公司与红利相关。它还支持交易成本假设，即外国投资者在持有支付股息的股票时面临额外的管理成本。