Companies have a number of ways in which to return capital to their shareholders. Two of the more popular ways in recent years are cash dividends and stock buybacks. 

Today's blog post shows a recovery underway in both dividend distributions and stock buybacks, as measured by the S&P 500 Index.  

For comparative purposes, we include the dividend distributions and share buybacks for the past eight quarters. 

The all-time high for the S&P 500 Index's quarterly dividend payout was the $127.0 billion distributed in Q1'20 (onset of COVID-19 pandemic), according to data from S&P Dow Jones Indices. 

The record for quarterly stock buybacks was the $223.0 billion registered in Q4'18 (not in chart), according to data from S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The S&P 500 Index's dividend payout of $123.9 billion in Q1'21, while up from the previous three quarters, was still down on a year-over-year basis (see chart). 

The $178.1 billion in buyback activity posted in Q1'21 was also higher than in the previous three quarters, but lower than a year ago (see chart). 

As of 6/17/21, the S&P 500 Index sectors contributing the most to its total dividend payout were as follows: Information Technology (17.2%); Health Care (15.1%); Financials (13.8%); and Consumer Staples (11.1%), according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

As of Q1'21, the S&P 500 Index sectors that were most aggressive in repurchasing their stock were as follows (% of all stocks repurchased): Information Technology (31.6%); Financials (19.9%); Communication Services (12.2%); and Health Care (11.5%), according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Overall, the companies in the S&P 500 Index are still flush with cash. Cash holdings, which include short-term investments and long-term marketable securities, reached $2.03 trillion in May 2021. The sectors holding the most cash were as follows: Information Technology ($587.7 billion); Communication Services ($345.2 billion); Consumer Discretionary ($294.9 billion); and Health Care ($288.4 billion); according to Bloomberg.