Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 1.1% - Here's Why

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) traded up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $446.04 and last traded at $443.51. 7,327,290 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 21,399,714 shares. The stock had previously closed at $438.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $507.77.

Microsoft Price Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $391.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $411.86. The company has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.39, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,515,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $133,023,000 after purchasing an additional 18,052 shares in the last quarter. Centric Wealth Management grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% in the third quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 16,156 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,789,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,250,128 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,980,299,000 after acquiring an additional 217,509 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.