Ownership Structure and Dividend Policy: Evidence from Listed Manufacturing Firms in Nigeria

The study examined the effect ownership structure on dividend policy of listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria using panel data collected from the audited annual financial statements of forty (40) listed manufacturing firms for a period of 2018-2025. Ex-post facto research design and the Generalized Least Squares method was used in its estimations with the aid of STATA Software Version 14. Dividend policy is the dependent variable measured by dividend yield, Ownership Structure is the independent variable measured by Managerial Ownership, Institutional Ownership, Foreign Ownership, and Family Ownership while Firm Size and Leverage are the control variables. The study found that Managerial Ownership, Institutional Ownership, Foreign Ownership, and Family Ownership have significant positive effect on dividend policy of listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria. However, the study recommends that managements of manufacturing firms in Nigeria should encourage dispersed ownership structure in order to provide effective monitoring roles and reduce managers’ control over the resources in order to pay higher dividends.