Thanks to a growing list of tech juggernauts with steady, positive cash flow, investors don't need to look outside of tech to find good dividend stocks. In fact, two of the most popular stocks in tech are also two of the best dividend stocks for investors to consider. Both Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) offer investors meaningful dividend yields, low payout ratios, and dividend growth -- all supported by strong underlying businesses.

But which of these two dividend stocks is the better bet? One year ago, Microsoft won this battle. Though Apple's lower payout ratio was attractive at the time, its stock's sharp run-up and Microsoft's underperformance made the software giant a better dividend stock. But since that article was published, Microsoft stock has soared about 47% and Apple has risen 28%. Does Microsoft's outperformance over the last 12 months make Apple the more attractive dividend stock today?

Image source: Microsoft.

Microsoft

Data source: Reuters and company SEC filings. Table by author.

Unsurprisingly, Microsoft's dividend yield fell sharply over the last 12 months as a result of its soaring stock price. Today, Microsoft has a dividend yield of 1.8%, down from 2.4% a year ago. Investors should obviously give weight to this smaller dividend yield in their analysis. On a positive note, however, Microsoft's payout ratio has declined from about 70% to 49% thanks to strong earnings growth.

Looking ahead, Microsoft's strong performance in its commercial-cloud segment should continue driving growth for the company. Commercial-cloud revenue in Microsoft's most recent quarter, for instance, was up 56% year over year, to $5.3 billion. This played a key role in Microsoft's 12% and 10% respective year-over-year revenue and operating income growth during the quarter.

Apple

Data source: Reuters and company SEC filings. Table by author.

Apple stock's strong 28% increase over the past 12 months has similarly suppressed the tech giant's dividend yield, but to a much lesser degree. During this period, Apple's dividend yield declined from 1.6% to 1.4%. Of course, Apple's dividend yield is still lower than Microsoft's, but it's a much closer battle this time around.