Yitbarek, Takele (PhD)Zelalem, Abraham2019-01-032023-11-192019-01-032023-11-192018-12http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/12345678/15510A Thesis Submitted to School of Graduate Studies of Addis Ababa University in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA) in ManagementIdentifying and explaining factors that influence dividend payout is one of the most debated issues among various academicians and policy makers alike. This study examined determinants of dividend payout in Ethiopian Private Banks. We used dividend payout ratio as outcome variable and profitability, liquidity, leverage, previous year dividend, company age and GDP growth rate as explanatory variables. The study used secondary data of six private banks for the period from 2010/11 to 2015/16 analyzed with pooled ordinary least square (POLS) regression model. The results of the study show profitability and company age significantly and negatively influence the outcome variable. The study also shows previous year dividend, leverage and GDP growth rate positively and significantly affect the response variable. The other input variable liquidity was found to be insignificant in shaping the behavior of dividend payout. The results of the study show the existing dividend theories do not exhaustively explain dividend payout in Ethiopian Private Banks. The findings of this research recommends investors and bank officials to consider bank’s profitability, leverage, previous year dividend, company age and GDP growth rate when they make investment and dividend payout decisionsen-USCompany AgeDividend Payout RatioEthiopian Private BanksGDP Growth RateThesis