Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Up 0.4%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) shares rose 0.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $425.42 and last traded at $424.63. Approximately 3,599,623 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 21,387,031 shares. The stock had previously closed at $423.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $471.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $490.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $452.61.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $414.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $395.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,727,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Innova Wealth Partners grew its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $646,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.