1. **State the problem:** We want to find the probability that a randomly selected stock paid dividends. 2. **Identify the data:** From the table: - Dividends paid and price increased: 40 - Dividends paid and no price increase: 75 - No dividends paid and price increased: 87 - No dividends paid and no price increase: 48 3. **Calculate total stocks:** $$\text{Total} = 40 + 75 + 87 + 48 = 250$$ 4. **Calculate total stocks that paid dividends:** $$\text{Dividends paid} = 40 + 75 = 115$$ 5. **Calculate the probability:** $$P(\text{Dividends paid}) = \frac{\text{Dividends paid}}{\text{Total}} = \frac{115}{250}$$ 6. **Simplify the fraction:** $$\frac{115}{250} = \frac{\cancel{115}}{\cancel{250}} \rightarrow \text{since 115 and 250 share a common factor 5}$$ $$\frac{115 \div 5}{250 \div 5} = \frac{23}{50}$$ 7. **Convert to decimal:** $$\frac{23}{50} = 0.46$$ **Final answer:** The probability that a randomly selected stock paid dividends is **0.46**. This corresponds to option A.