Microsoft To Buy Back $60B Worth Of Shares, Hikes Dividend By 11%

Microsoft Corporation MSFT said in a statement Tuesday it plans to buy back $60 billion worth of shares.

What Happened: The company’s share repurchase program has no expiration date and can be terminated at any time, as per the statement.

The Redmond, Washington-based tech giant also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share, an increase of 6 cents, or 11%, over the previous quarter.

The dividend will be payable on Dec. 9 to shareholders of record on Nov. 18 with the ex-dividend date set as Nov. 17.

Additionally, Microsoft’s board of directors approved the appointment of Brad Smith as president and vice chair.

Why It Matters: Microsoft’s dividend announcement is in line with the estimate of Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Wiess, who said the company could increase its dividend per share from 56 cents to 62 cents.

Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating on Microsoft shares and raised its price target on the stock from $305 to $331.

Smith has served at Microsoft for over 27 years and has been the company’s president for little more than 6 years, as per his LinkedIn profile. He is also a member of the Netflix Inc NFLX board of directors.

The vice-chair role is an upgrade for Smith, who will continue to report to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Microsoft said Tuesday that its annual shareholder’s meeting will be held on Nov. 30.

Price Action: On Tuesday, Microsoft shares closed nearly 0.9% higher at $299.79 in the regular session and rose another near 0.9% in the after-hours trading to $302.39.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

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