Microsoft’s board of directors approved the payment of another 31 cents a share dividend to investors.
The dividend, likely to cost the company a total of $2.5 billion if previous payments are any indication, will be paid in Microsoft’s fiscal fourth quarter — on June 11 to shareholders as of May 21, the company said in a press release late Tuesday.
Microsoft’s board raised the company’s dividend in September to 31 cents a share, from 28 cents a share. That payment, about $2.5 billion, was delivered to investors in December, in the second quarter, which ended Dec. 31. For the third quarter, the company’s 31-cent dividend payout is scheduled for Thursday; that, too is expected to cost $2.5 billion.
Microsoft has raised its dividend every year since 2009. The company paid $16.9 billion in dividends during its two most recent fiscal years.