MSFT

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending September 18

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending September 18. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Artesian Resources (ARTNA): now $0.2216 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.2183. Blackstone Mortgage Trust (BXMT): now $0.62 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.52. Citizens Financial Services (CZFS): now $0.41 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.405. Elmer Bancorp, Inc. (ELMA): now $0.33 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.32. The First of Long Island (FLIC): now $0.20 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.19. Golden Enterprise (GLDC): now $0.03375 … Read more

Microsoft Raises Dividend in a Big Way!

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It hasn’t been but a few days since we talked about Microsoft (MSFT) and the company’s tremendous dividend growth potential in San Jose (see ). We covered the software giant’s huge net cash position on the balance sheet and its significant free-cash-flow generating capacity. Microsoft’s Dividend Cushion ratio stood at 3.3 times. Well, today Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend 16.1%, to $0.36 per share, or $1.44 on an annualized basis, translating into a 3.3% yield at the last closing price of $43.98 per share. That’s a sizable increase, a nice yield, and we still believe shares are cheap. Here’s the press release: http://news.microsoft.com/2015/09/15/microsoft-announces-increase-in-quarterly-dividend/ There’s nothing quite like seeing the Dividend Cushion ratio in action! Microsoft remains one of the top holdings … Read more

Bond Issuance Has Ground to a Halt; Expect Negative 2016 GDP Impact

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The Fed is in a tight spot. We give Ben Bernanke and team a lot of credit for successfully delaying a prolonged global economic recession following the worst financial crisis of our generation late last decade, one that swallowed up such household names as GM (GM) and AIG (AIG), but such policies always come with unintended consequences. New Fed Chair Janet Yellen may have to deal with the true aftermath, and it’s been thrust upon her, perhaps unfairly. With interest rates on fixed-income products near the lowest they’ve been in history, retirees and near-retirees, after suffering significant capital losses during the Financial Crisis, have been lured into higher-yielding dividend-paying equities, the prices of some almost completely supported by debt-infused dividend … Read more

5 High-Yielding Strong Dividend Growth Stocks for the Long Haul

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We’ve never been more concerned about the financial health of dividend growth investors. Perhaps we’re partly to blame for some of the excitement surrounding the strategy that has taken many corners of the web by storm, but we continue to believe it is important for investors to strive to understand the strategy’s fundamental fallacies, which can’t be talked about enough as a means of helping investors understand key risks.   For those new to dividend growth investing, part of the strategy centers on identifying stocks that pay dividends that are poised to increase over the long haul, generating in time a yield (a payout) that is a) sufficient on the cost and b) sufficient to generate an adequate income in retirement … Read more

Understanding the Market Melt-Up Wednesday

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The broader US markets continued their roller-coaster ride Wednesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA) closing up more than 600 points. There are a number of dynamics at work that explain the large move, which only partially retraces the large declines over the past couple weeks. First, the extreme level of volatility that we are experiencing today in the markets is a direct result of the Fed’s actions to prevent the onset of a modern-day Great Depression toward the latter part of this decade and into this one. By slashing interest rates and engaging in round and after round of quantitative easing for the past several years, the Fed coincidentally pushed yields on fixed-income instruments to insufficient levels for … Read more

The Debt Bubble Is Deflating; Will It Pop?

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The fundamental concerns surrounding the financial health of China-dependent companies across the globe are tangible, and the risk of a currency crisis and eventual credit crunch are real, if they aren’t already happening. Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), the fourth-largest iron ore producer in the world, announced over the weekend, that profits were nearly completely wiped out (down nearly 90%) for the fiscal year ending June 30, even as the firm shipped 33% more tons of iron ore during the period over last year’s mark. The largest iron ore producers, BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO), are only adding to production overcapacity, conditions that are wreaking havoc on the commodity price. Iron ore prices are to remain under pressure as … Read more

Valuentum Moving to “Neutral” on Kinder Morgan

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Valuentum is moving to neutral on Kinder Morgan (KMI). An updated 16-page report will be available on our website Monday morning. On June 11, 2015, we published an article “5 Reasons Why We Think Kinder Morgan’s Shares Will Collapse” when shares of the pipeline giant were trading at ~$40. Without reaching out to us first for questions or comments, Barron’s picked up the scoop, and on websites in which we frequently publish a small sample of our content including Seeking Alpha, Valuentum was repeatedly blasted and “attacked” for its unique and differentiated view. Many of our members were appalled by the public (and anonymous) commenters because our members have been aware of our fair value estimate on Kinder Morgan since … Read more

Guide to Second Quarter Earnings; Big Cap Tech Sets Somber Mood

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Image Source: Fortune Live Media, Fortune Most Powerful Women Dinner With Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Apple (AAPL) There were no real surprises in Apple’s fiscal third quarter (calendar second quarter) results. The iPhone maker posted record quarterly revenue and net earnings of $49.6 billion and $10.7 billion, up ~33% and ~39%, respectively, thanks to record fiscal third-quarter sales of iPhone and Mac; its highest ever sales from services and the successful execution of the launch of the Apple Watch also buoyed performance. An “amazing quarter,” iPhone revenue advanced 59%, and customers and investors alike are looking forward to the release of iOS 9, OS X El Capitan and watchOS 2 in the fall. Apple’s gross margin expanded 30 basis points in … Read more

Microsoft Restructuring Phone Hardware Business, PC Environment Remains Challenging

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Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio holding Microsoft (MSFT) announced the restructuring of its phone hardware business July 8. In addition to a restructuring charge in the range of $750-$850 million, the company will record an impairment charge of ~$7.6 billion related to assets from the acquisition of the Nokia (NOK) Devices and Services business, which closed just under a year ago. Microsoft also announced it will cut up to 7,800 jobs, primarily in the phone business. The non-tax-deductible impairment charge will be recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, which ended June 30, and the job cuts are expected to take place over the next several months. These sweeping initiatives underscore Microsoft’s efforts to refine its focus to meet ever-changing … Read more

Are Corporate Credit Ratings Really Useful?

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Image Source: Simon Cunningham  There is no way… hold on, let me start over. There is absolutely no way that a company whose primary product price can fall 50% or more in a couple months is a pristine AAA-rated credit. It makes little sense. Having evaluated the credits of hundreds of companies spanning all sectors and industries, you’re never going to convince me that such a business model is worthy of a coveted AAA credit rating. Never. This week, Standard & Poor’s (MHFI) reiterated Exxon Mobil’s (XOM) AAA rating, as if the conditions that shellacked the energy markets the past 6 months simply do not apply to Exxon. Instead, the rating agency opted to lower the firm’s liquidity rating from … Read more