Microsoft Shows Relative Strength

In a climate where some of the biggest companies in the U.S. appear struggling to prove they have enough cash to remain viable entities, consumer tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) has announced before the opening bell Monday that it plans to buy back $40 million of its own shares and raise its dividend yield by a couple cents per share.  This seems like a real old-school move -- like, how 2005!

The company received the rating of 'Aaa' from Moody's, and with new debt financing the company is freeing up $2 billion in commercial paper, according to a Reuters report.  Shares of MSFT were up $5 in the pre-market this morning.

The Zacks Rank on MSFT is currently #3 (Hold).  Very little analyst revision activity has occurred in the past month, and the Zacks consensus estimates for the September quarter (Q109) and fiscal year (June 2009) are a very steady 47 cents and $2.15 per share, respectively.

Read the full analyst report on MSFT