Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 0.4%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) was up 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $411.30 and last traded at $411.14. Approximately 3,184,605 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 21,783,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $409.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. BNP Paribas raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $452.61.

Microsoft Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.60, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $413.84 and its 200-day moving average is $392.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 89.0% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

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.