Long-term trends bode well for tech giants

Article Excerpt

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to lift the earnings of Microsoft and Cisco, as businesses need their products to connect with employees working remotely. Demand will likely remain elevated as many of these temporary changes evolve into longer-lasting trends. That should let both firms keep raising their dividends for shareholders. MICROSOFT CORP. $286 is a buy. The company (Nasdaq symbol MSFT; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 7.5 billion; Market cap: $2.1 trillion; Dividend yield: 0.8%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.microsoft.com) is the world’s largest computer software company. Its main product is the Windows operating system, which powers about 85% of the world’s personal computers. The company last increased your quarterly dividend by 9.8% in December 2020. The new annual rate of $2.24 a share yields 0.8%. In its fiscal 2021 fourth quarter, ended June 30, 2021, revenue rose 21.3%, to $46.15 billion from $38.03 billion a year earlier. That gain was mainly due to a 30% jump in revenue…