Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading 0.6% Higher – Still a Buy?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shot up 0.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $387.92 and last traded at $385.65. 4,157,134 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 19,213,350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $383.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.43.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $410.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $420.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $2.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 7.6% during the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $113,399,000 after purchasing an additional 18,544 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $32,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $3,314,000. Finally, Evernest Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 389.2% in the 3rd quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 53,770 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,137,000 after acquiring an additional 42,778 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.