Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 0.6% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) rose 0.6% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $423.76 and last traded at $420.90. Approximately 3,356,457 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 9,940,941 shares. The stock had previously closed at $418.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.90.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.9 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $428.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $428.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.99 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Microsoft by 27.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 12.5% in the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 15,830 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,759 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.9% during the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 23,697 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $11,080,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% during the second quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 12,802 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,722,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Williams & Novak LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Williams & Novak LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.