Microsoft pushes its quarterly dividend 15% higher to 23 cents per share

Today Microsoft announced that it is raising its dividend from 20 cents per share to 23 cents per quarter, a raise of around 15%. That gives the company a yield of around 2.9%

According to a report in Reuters, this is the seventh time that Microsoft has raised its dividend payout since the dividend was itself introduced in 2004. Microsoft, a preeminent technology company, has suffered from a stagnant stock price for years.

Today, Microsoft was down a fraction, in a day basically flat for its stock. This matched the larger market indexes, which also were all but unch during normal trading hours. In after hours trading, Microsoft has eased slightly, losing on the order of a quarter of a percent.

According to Google Finance, chief competitor to Microsoft, Apple, yields around 2.5%, meaning that on a per-share basis, the Redmond-based software giant pays out a little more to its investors. That said, Apple has enjoyed a massive rally in the past handful of years, whilst Microsoft has remained mired. Dividend yield a rally does not make.

In other Microsoft news, according to GeekWire, longtime Microsoft board member Raymond Gilmartin will not seek re-election, and will step down.

Top Image Credit: Robert Scoble