text: Nov 4, 2011, 07:57am EDT |
  Microsoft Corporation (NASD: MSFT) has been named as the ''Top Dividend Stock of the Nasdaq 100'', according to Dividend Channel, which published its most recent ''DividendRank'' report. The report noted that among the components of the Nasdaq 100 index, MSFT shares displayed both attractive valuation metrics and strong profitability metrics. For example, the recent MSFT share price of $26.53 represents a price-to-book ratio of 3.8 and an annual dividend yield of 3.0% — by comparison, the average dividend paying stock in the Nasdaq 100 yields 1.9% and trades at a price-to-book ratio of 4.2. The report also cited the strong quarterly dividend history at Microsoft Corporation, and favorable long-term multi-year growth rates in key fundamental data points.
  The current annualized dividend paid by Microsoft Corporation is $0.80/share, currently paid in quarterly installments, and its most recent dividend has an upcoming ex-date of 11/15/2011. Below is a long-term dividend history chart for MSFT, which the report stressed as being of key importance. Indeed, studying a company's past dividend history can be of good help in judging whether the most recent dividend is likely to continue.