Microsoft May Raise Dividend After A Gap Of Two Years

According to an article on Bloomberg, there is a possibility that Microsoft Corp MSFT, the world’s largest software manufacturer, may raise its quarterly dividend for the first time since 2008. MSFT may hike its quarterly dividend to $0.15 a share, from $0.13 per share, increasing the company’s dividend yield to 2.31%, according to the data collected by Bloomberg. The dividend hike may cost Microsoft roughly $700 million annually. Microsoft, which is expected to declare the biggest sales increase over the past two years, had $39.7 billion in cash and short-term investments as of March 31. With so much cash in the kitty, the company is looking for ways to reward its shareholders post a 21% decline in MSFT's share price over the past quarter, as compared to a 12% fall in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Michael Holland, the chairman of Holland & Co in New York, said, “They really have to do something… A dividend increase is a way for the board and management to signal their overall business is healthy.” If they don’t increase the dividend, they “would probably send an unintended signal,” he added. Read more from media.