S&P 500 Firms Will Return Over One Trillion To Shareholders In 2016: GS

Returning cash to shareholders through buybacks and dividends remains a popular corporate strategy with S&P 500 firms expected to return over $1 trillion to shareholders in 2016, estimates Goldman Sachs. David J. Kostin and team at Goldman Sachs noted in their Nov. 6 research report on “S&P 500 cash spending trends” that investors have rewarded firms with high total cash returns relative to firms investing for growth. S&P 500 cash balances remain at historical levels Kostin and colleagues point out that investors are focused on how firms will allocate their historically high levels of cash during 2016 after several company managements revealed their…