Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Up 0.2%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) rose 0.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $452.24 and last traded at $451.96. Approximately 2,930,249 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 20,816,951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $450.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Macquarie raised their price objective on Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

Microsoft Stock 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 has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.13, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $421.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $408.52.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.7% in the third quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 38,095 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $12,028,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. My Personal CFO LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. My Personal CFO LLC now owns 30,829 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,734,000 after buying an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 5,508,950 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,739,451,000 after acquiring an additional 37,601 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.2% in the third quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 537,733 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $169,789,000 after acquiring an additional 35,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGT Group Foundation raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.6% during the third quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 1,016,532 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $327,120,000 after acquiring an additional 25,522 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.