Alongside all the big Windows 11 news yesterday, Microsoft announced that it would be increasing quarterly dividends from December 8 to $0.68 a share from $0.62. This 6 cent increase is the equivalent of a 10% increase. Microsoft said that those eligible for payment on December 8 must be on record as being shareholders on November 17 with the ex-dividend date being on November 16.
At the time of writing, Microsoft shares are currently priced at $242.45, down from $334.75 a year ago. Much like the rest of the companies in the S&P 500, Microsoft has seen its share price fall over the last 12 months as the Federal Reserve makes credit more expensive to obtain through higher interest rates to tackle inflation.
In addition to announcing higher dividends, Microsoft said that its annual shareholder meeting will be held virtually on December 13. Those who own Microsoft shares, as of October 12, will be entitled to vote their shares on any decisions that need to be made during the meeting.
The meeting in December will be held by CEO Satya Nadella, CFO Amy Hood, President Brad Smith, and Microsoft lead independent director John Thompson. Interestingly, CNN Money’s insider trading tab on the Microsoft shares page suggests that both Nadella and Hood sold off millions of dollars worth of stock late last year and early this year while the price was quite a bit higher.