Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading 0.3% Higher

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) was up 0.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $428.48 and last traded at $428.47. Approximately 3,760,320 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 21,166,918 shares. The stock had previously closed at $427.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays increased their price target on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $454.70.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $416.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $398.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $3.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The company’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HTG Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. HTG Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,387 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 30,948 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,772,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the period. Defined Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Avaii Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,603 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,138,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,229 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,651,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is 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.