By SHIRLEY A. LAZO | MORE ARTICLES BY AUTHOR
August’s cash dividend payments of $34 billion set an all-time monthly record. That tally, by Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indexes, compares with the prior peak of $32.1 billion in November 2011. Furthermore, it was achieved despite the fact that payout ratios remain very low, with companies distributing less than a third of what they are making. Historically, the rate is 54%.