At Microsoft's annual meetings each November, one shareholder question is as predictable as the fall that rains in Redmond: When will the software giant issue a dividend? Even as Microsoft's cash holdings ballooned to $40 billion, Chairman William H. Gates and CEO Steven A. Ballmer could always be counted on to recite the standard company line: The board routinely considers the matter but wants to keep the cash for contingencies. Yet on Jan. 16, the board changed its mind. Microsoft (MSFT ) will split its stock on Jan. 27 and pay an 8-cent per share annual dividend on Mar. 7 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 21.
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