Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $506.78 and last traded at $502.29, with a volume of 6496832 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $496.62.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have commented on MSFT. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $527.31.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT
Microsoft Stock Up 1.1%
The business's fifty day moving average price is $465.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $424.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.84, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of Microsoft
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,515,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 18,052 shares during the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,274,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 147.9% during the 4th quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 1,748 shares of the software giant's stock worth $737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Microsoft
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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