Zacks.com Announces That Richard Moroney Highlights the Following Stocks: Dell, Intel, and Microsoft.

CHICAGO -- Richard Moroney, editor of the Dow Theory Forecasts newsletter, says the technology sector is the most fertile area for special dividends. Read about three companies with big cash stashes; namely Dell (NASDAQ:DELL), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). Click here for the full story exclusively on Zacks.com: http://at.zacks.com/?id=84

Highlights from the February 7th Featured Expert column by Richard Moroney includes:

At the end of October, Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) held nearly $7.5 billion in cash and equivalents, up 50% from year-earlier levels. Free cash flow has topped operating profits in each of the last 12 quarters, allowing the company to repurchase stock and boost capital spending while still building its cash hoard. Dell has not announced plans for the cash. Possible uses include the initiation of a dividend or, less likely, a large acquisition. Regardless of how it eventually hopes to deploy its cash, the competitive advantages that allow Dell to generate that cash appear to have staying power.

Intel's (NASDAQ:INTC) cash flow has risen steadily since the end of 2001. During that three-year period, Intel substantially reduced its capital spending, freeing up funds to double the dividend (still modest at $0.32 per share), shrink the share base 5.5% through repurchases, and sharply increase its cash holdings. At the end of 2004, Intel held $17.2 billion in cash and equivalents, versus $11.6 billion at the end of 2001. Demand for computers and communications equipment has risen sharply since July and should continue to increase at modest rates in 2005.

Software titan Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) ability to generate cash is legendary. The company paid out $34.4 billion in December quarter dividends, including a special dividend of $3.00 per share. After those payments, Microsoft still had $34.5 billion in cash and equivalents, or $3.15 per share, at the end of December. In the December quarter, Microsoft earned $0.35 per share excluding stock-based compensation, up 3%. Revenue rose 7% to $10.8 billion on the strength of gains at six of Microsoft's seven business units. The entertainment unit, which includes results from the Xbox gaming console, posted a quarterly profit for the first time on the strength of impressive holiday sales of both consoles and games.

Get more of Richard Moroney's information on the stocks above, and learn about other companies with big cash stashes, by clicking: http://at.zacks.com/?id=85

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