Journal of Corporate Finance Vol. 3 No. 2 1997
The effect of stock splits on the ownership structure of firms
Abstract
Although several researchers have speculated that stock splits may affect the ownership structure of firms, there is very little empirical evidence available in this regard. We investigate a broad sample of stock splits by firms without confounding events, controlling for industry and size effects. Our results show that stock splits increase the numbers of both individual and institutional shareholders, and they do not affect the proportion of equity held by institutions. Further, changes in the numbers of individual and institutional shareholders are positively related to the split factor. Abnormal announcement returns are positively correlated with changes in the total number of shareholders. These findings support the signaling hypothesis.
- DOI
- 10.1016/s0929-1199(96)00014-4
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 167-188
- Language
- en
- Sources
- bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref