Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 0.2%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) was down 0.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $411.51 and last traded at $412.74. Approximately 4,405,595 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 21,815,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $413.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $452.61.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $413.80 and a 200 day moving average of $391.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 89.0% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp lifted its position in Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 36 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.