Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading 0.5% Higher

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $412.47 and last traded at $409.50. 4,488,517 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 21,652,949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $407.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Microsoft from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $471.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $434.05.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company's fifty day moving average is $414.59 and its 200-day moving average is $387.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.99, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The firm had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $61.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 27.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 89.0% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.