Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 0.6%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) was up 0.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $417.64 and last traded at $416.07. Approximately 4,922,118 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 21,791,820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $413.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Macquarie lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $430.52.

Microsoft Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $415.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $383.26. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders 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 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Monumental Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Bellevue Group AG acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 534.5% during the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 184 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.