Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Up 0.7%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price rose 0.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $409.85 and last traded at $409.49. Approximately 4,865,949 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 21,877,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $406.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

Microsoft Price Performance

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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $413.84 and its 200-day moving average is $392.05. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 89.0% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings 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.

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.