Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading 1.5% Higher - Here's Why

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 1.5% on Friday . The company traded as high as $500.13 and last traded at $498.25. Approximately 13,984,829 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 21,692,275 shares. The stock had previously closed at $491.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $524.71.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $459.28 and a 200 day moving average of $423.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 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 announced its 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 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 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,375,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.