Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 0.1%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) was down 0.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $419.12 and last traded at $421.11. Approximately 3,763,469 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 22,628,986 shares. The stock had previously closed at $421.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 5th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Raymond James upped their target price on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $465.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $423.34.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $410.28 and a 200 day moving average of $373.98. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.10, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The firm had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Innova Wealth Partners grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sicart Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Sicart Associates LLC now owns 926 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.