Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Up 1.6% - What's Next?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) rose 1.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $460.20 and last traded at $457.33. Approximately 5,298,197 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 21,524,623 shares. The stock had previously closed at $450.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $513.13.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The company's fifty day moving average is $407.73 and its 200 day moving average is $414.89. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.