Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading 1.6% Higher - Here's Why

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 1.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $364.20 and last traded at $364.74. 4,166,283 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 21,178,811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $359.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $470.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson raised Microsoft from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Microsoft from $530.00 to $472.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $493.13.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $384.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $411.41.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.