Dividend Payout Ratio

This is calculated by dividing the yearly dividend(regular dividend, extraordinary dividends are not counted) by the earnings per share of a stock, or by dividing the net income of the stock by the dividend.

More mature companies, in other words, companies that are large relative to other companies in the industy, have saturated their market are experiencing slower growth, usually have a higher dividend payout ratio, as they find fewer opportunities for investment and expansion and opt to return money to shareholders.

Note that a high dividend payout ratio does not necessarily mean a high dividend yield.