1.) Dividend Indifference
The leading proponents of this theory are Merton Miller and Franco Modigliani (MM). MM argue that a stock’s price is only determined by its earnings and business risk. MM’s claim that dividend policy is irrelevant is based on the idea that any shareholder can create their own dividend policy. If a stock does not pay dividends, and a shareholder wants a dividend, they can simply sell enough of their stock to create the desired dividend. Conversely, if a stock pays a dividend, and the shareholder does not want the dividend, then they simply use the payout to buy additional shares.