ITEM 5.
Market for Registrant's Common Stock and Related Stockholder Matters
Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Stock Market under
the symbol MSFT. On August 15, 2003, there were 131,580 registered
holders of record of our common stock. The high and low common stock prices per
share were as follows:
|
Quarter
Ended
|
|
Sept. 30
|
|
Dec. 31
|
|
Mar. 31
|
|
June 30
|
|
Year
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fiscal 2002
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Common stock price per share(1):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
High
|
|
$36.29
|
|
$34.75
|
|
$34.93
|
|
$30.19
|
|
$36.29
|
|
Low
|
|
24.86
|
|
25.90
|
|
29.00
|
|
24.31
|
|
24.31
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fiscal 2003
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Common stock price per share(1):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
High
|
|
$27.43
|
|
$29.12
|
|
$28.49
|
|
$26.37
|
|
$29.12
|
|
Low
|
|
21.42
|
|
21.89
|
|
22.80
|
|
23.67
|
|
21.42
|
(1) Amounts have been restated to reflect a two-for-one stock split in
February 2003.
In January 2003, our Board of
Directors declared our first annual common stock dividend, of $0.08 per share,
which was paid in March 2003. Our dividend policy is impacted by, among other
items, our views on potential future capital requirements relating to research
and development, creation and expansion of sales distribution channels,
investments and acquisitions, share dilution management, legal risks, and
challenges to our business model.
In
connection with Microsoft's acquisition of Navision a/s, pursuant to a
voluntary offer to acquire all Navision ordinary shares, Microsoft issued 29.1
million shares of its common stock to Navision shareholders on July 12, 2002,
in exchange for 19.4 million Navision ordinary shares, nominal value DKK 1 per
share. The price paid by Microsoft in connection with the offer was DKK 300 per
each Navision share, payable at each Navision shareholder's election in either
cash or Microsoft shares, on the basis of an exchange ratio of 1.49982 shares
of Microsoft common stock for each Navision ordinary share. These issuances of
Microsoft common stock were not registered under the Securities Act of 1933 on
the basis of the exemption provided by Rule 802 thereunder. Rule 802 exempts
offers and sales in an exchange offer for a class of securities of a foreign
private issuer in a business combination transaction, if certain conditions are
met. Since the completion of the acquisition, we have issued 23,009 shares of
our common stock to 16 employees in exchange for 10,136 ordinary shares of
Navision that were acquired upon exercise of warrants and stock options issued
to employees of Navision and its subsidiaries that were outstanding at the time
of the acquisition. The issuances were not registered under the Securities Act.
