Alternative dividend policiesOver the last 10 years, a firm has had the earnings per share shown in the following table:

.a.If the firm's dividend policy were based on a constant payout ratio of 40%for all years with positive earnings and 0% otherwise, what would be the annual dividend for2022?

b.If the firm had a dividend payout of $1.00 per share, increasing by $0.10 per share whenever the dividend payout fell below 50% for two consecutive years, what annual dividend would the firm pay in 2022?

c.If the firm's policy were to pay $0.50 per share each period except when earnings per share exceed $3.00, when an extra dividend equal to 80% of earnings beyond $3.00 would be paid, what annual dividend would the firm pay in 2022?

d.Discuss the pros and cons of each dividend policy described in parts a through c.

-X Data table (Click on the icon here e in order to copy the contents of the data table below into a spreadsheet.) Year Year 2022 2021 Earnings per share $4.54 $4.36 $4.97 $3.59 $3.63 Earnings per share $3.22 $1.09 $1.15 - $0.75 $0.83 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2020 2019 2018