After decades of keeping its cash to grow, Starbucks is giving some back to shareholders.

On April 23, it will pay a dividend of 10 cents a share to shareholders of record April 7. The company has about 743 million shares outstanding, 76 percent owned by mutual funds and other institutions.

Starbucks expects to pay 35 to 40 percent of its per-share profit each quarter in dividends.

Its board also authorized the repurchase of 15 million shares, on top of 6.3 million shares that are available for repurchase under previous authorizations.

"Starbucks solid cash position and cash flow outlook enable the Company to invest in future profitable growth through stores, innovation and new platforms, while also returning cash to our shareholders through the initiation of a dividend and future share repurchases," CFO Troy Alstead said in a press release.

The company has more cash than it used to, partly because it is growing much slower. At the end of December, it had $1.3 billion in cash, up from $600 million three months earlier and $357 million a year earlier. After debt of $550 million, it had about $757 million in net cash in late December.

Starbucks closed more coffee shops than it opened during its last fiscal year, ended in September. It still has 16,700 stores worldwide and plans to open another 300 this fiscal year.

Largely because of massive cost cuts including big layoffs, Starbucks' profit rose 24 percent to $391 million last fiscal year, then more than tripled during the first quarter to $241 million.

The dividend news is a double joy for investors. After years of trading low, the stock lately has approached a 52-week high of $25.66; it closed Tuesday at $25.41. Shares remain well below their all-time high of nearly $40 in mid-2006.

Starbucks expects 3,800 employees and other shareholders at its annual meeting this morning at McCaw Hall at Seattle Center. It will be webcast live beginning at 10 a.m.