The Board of Directors of Microsoft Corp announced a new share buyback program. The software giant would repurchase as much as USD 40 billion of its shares. The new buyback program had no expiration date.It would replace an earlier USD 40 billion share buyback program expiring at the end of this month. 

In a statement, Microsoft Corp Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said, "These actions reflect a continued commitment to returning cash to our shareholders."

Microsoft also announced that its quarterly dividends for this quarter had increased to 22%. Compared to the previous quarter, this reflected a USD 0.05 rise and was now pegged at USD 0.28 per share. Shareholders of record on November 21, 2013 would receive the dividends on December 12, 2013.     

According to the Business Insider, the share buyback was the latest in a series of moves from Microsoft. It all started with a huge reorganization which was followed by the announcement of Steve Ballmer's retirement as CEO. The software firm then acquired Nokia shortly afterwards.