In a brief press note, Microsoft says its quarterly dividend is $0.46 per share. This is a 4 cent (9.5 percent) growth compared to the last quarterly dividend. The company will pay the dividend by December 13, 2018, although to shareholders the payment will come on November 15, 2018. Along with the quarterly dividend, Microsoft confirmed the date of its 2018 Annual Shareholders Meeting. The board of directors say the meeting will be held on November 28. Any shareholders in place when business closes on September 26, 2018, will be able to vote in the annual meeting.
A Good Time for Shareholders
As mentioned, Microsoft is currently thriving under the stewardship of CEO Satya Nadella. His cloud first strategy has propelled the company to new heights. While not a force in the consumer market, Microsoft has found a new lease of life in enterprise and on the cloud. In July, the company announced its fiscal 2018 results, highlighting record revenue of $110.4 billion. This was the first time Microsoft has ever achieved revenue of over $100 million. From that revenue, the company reported $16.6 billion in income profit. Shareholders are seeing Microsoft stock as a golden ticket, but there are concerns this may be as good as it gets. Nadella’s personal sale of his own Microsoft shares prompted debate about the ceiling of the company’s stock. Selling now means all shareholders are making money on shares they previously purchased. Investors are torn on Microsoft’s outlook. Some are hanging in believing the growth pattern will continue. Others are cashing in to take advantage of shares that may never be this high again.
