Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $430.50 and last traded at $431.11. 3,764,354 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 20,555,195 shares. The stock had previously closed at $432.11.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. New Street Research initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $493.94.
Microsoft Price Performance
The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $419.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.72.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.
Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. 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.