If I told you that 20-years ago, firms were paying out 70% of their earnings in dividends and Today they payout 10% of their earnings in dividends, which of the below explanations is consistent with this pattern?

A. More companies are slowing down their payouts by using dividend smoothing

B.Firms are reducing their dividends aggressively

C.Firms are using the excess cash from earnings to pay off debt

D. Financial Managers prefer to lower dividends rather than grow them