Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Up 0.1% – Here’s What Happened

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shot up 0.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $391.20 and last traded at $390.41. 3,470,304 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 19,257,920 shares. The stock had previously closed at $389.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.59.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $407.20 and its 200 day moving average is $419.45.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,799,261 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,204,664,000 after purchasing an additional 49,735 shares during the period. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 8.9% during the third quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 44,685 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $19,228,000 after purchasing an additional 3,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 9.3% during the third quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 16,731 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently 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.