Its typical for dividend paying stocks to start out as high-growth stocks that reinvest their earnings back into the company to fund future growth. Over time, the growth slows and a company is left with a steady business that brings in a lot of cash. So instead of adding to the piles of cash they already have, they decide to start paying a dividend. This is what is happening in the Technology Sector. Intel (
INTC) and Microsoft (
MSFT) have been paying a dividend for about a decade. Earlier this year Apple (
AAPL) decided to join the party with its first dividend payment. And just last year Cisco (
CSCO) began giving back to its shareholders with a regular dividend.
