Microsoft Raises Dividend, Names Hugh Johnston to Board

By Imani Moise 

Microsoft Corp. raised its dividend by 7.6% Tuesday, and named 30-year PepsiCo Inc. veteran Hugh Johnston to its board.

Board member G. Mason Morfit of ValueAct Capital won't seek reelection after his term expires in November.

Mr. Johnston, who has served as chief financial officer of the beverage company since 2010, will step down from Twitter Inc.'s board Oct. 1. Former Google Inc. finance chief Patrick Pichette will join Twitter's board on Dec. 1.

Microsoft tends to announce dividend increases in September. The 7.6% hike is the smallest increase by percentage in recent years.

Last year the dividend got an 8% boost, and in 2015 the company raised its quarterly payout by 16% after an 11% increase in 2014.

This year's increase, to 42 cents from 39 cents, raises Microsoft's dividend yield to 2.2% from 2.1%. The dividend is payable Dec. 14 to shareholders of record Nov. 16.

Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., enjoyed torrid revenue growth in the 1990s fueled by the spread of personal computers. After its growth slowed, the company began offering increasingly generous dividends.

The software giant has expanded its business selling web-based services to corporate customers, and has solidified its spot as the No. 2 provider of on-demand computing processing and storage behind Amazon.com Inc.

In its fiscal fourth quarter, Microsoft notched gains in its Azure cloud-computing business and Office 365, the online version of its widely used productivity software.

The company's shares have risen 21% so far this year to $75.44.

Write to Imani Moise at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 19, 2017 19:57 ET (23:57 GMT)

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