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NASDAQ:MSFT

Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Forecast, Price & News

$313.64

+0.85 (+0.27%)

(As of 09/28/2023 ET)

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Today's Range: $309.45
▼
$315.48
50-Day Range: $312.14
▼
$350.98
52-Week Range: $213.43
▼
$366.78

Volume: 19.65 million shs
Average Volume: 19.97 million shs
Market Capitalization: $2.33 trillion

P/E Ratio: 32.37
Dividend Yield: 0.87%
Price Target: $375.03

Microsoft MarketRank™ Forecast

Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy
2.87 Rating Score
Upside/Downside: 19.6% Upside
$375.03 Price Target
Short Interest: Healthy
0.56% of Float Sold Short
Dividend Strength: Strong
Based on Four Factors
Sustainability: -0.75
Upright™ Environmental Score
News Sentiment: 0.60
Based on 109 Articles This Week
Insider Trading: Selling Shares
$38.20 M Sold Last Quarter
Proj. Earnings Growth: 13.94%
From $10.90 to $12.42 Per Share

Overall MarketRank^™

MarketRank is calculated as an average of available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

2.96 out of 5 stars

Computer And Technology Sector

41st out of 603 stocks

Prepackaged Software Industry

7th out of 207 stocks

3.4

Analyst's Opinion

Consensus Rating
Microsoft has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.87, and is based on 33 buy ratings, 5 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.
Price Target Upside/Downside
According to analysts' consensus price target of $375.03, Microsoft has a forecasted upside of 19.6% from its current price of $313.64.
Amount of Analyst Coverage
Microsoft has been the subject of 24 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

3.0

Short Interest

Percentage of Shares Shorted
0.56% of the float of Microsoft has been sold short.
Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover
Microsoft has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 1.7, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.
Change versus previous month
Short interest in Microsoft has recently increased by 7.39%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

3.3

Dividend Strength

Dividend Yield
Microsoft has a dividend yield of 0.87%, which is in the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.
Dividend Growth
Microsoft has been increasing its dividend for 21 years.
Dividend Coverage
The dividend payout ratio of Microsoft is 28.07%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.
Dividend Sustainability
Based on earnings estimates, Microsoft will have a dividend payout ratio of 21.90% next year. This indicates that Microsoft will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

2.9

Sustainability and ESG

Overall ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Score
Microsoft has received a 26.30% net impact score from Upright. Microsoft seems to create the most significant positive value in categories "Taxes", "Jobs", and "Knowledge infrastructure". The positive contribution in the "Knowledge infrastructure" impact category is mostly driven by its "Operating systems", "Cloud infrastructure services", and "Content management software" products. See details.
Environmental Sustainability
The Environmental Impact score for Microsoft is -0.75.

2.6

News and Social Media Coverage

News Sentiment
Microsoft has a news sentiment score of 0.60. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This news sentiment score is similar to the average news sentiment of Computer and Technology companies.
News Coverage This Week
MarketBeat has tracked 109 news articles for Microsoft this week, compared to 52 articles on an average week.
Search Interest
Only 376 people have searched for MSFT on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -23% compared to the previous 30 days.
MarketBeat Follows
868 people have added Microsoft to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 8% compared to the previous 30 days.

2.5

Company Ownership

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling
In the past three months, Microsoft insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $38,195,619.00 in company stock.
Percentage Held by Insiders
Only 0.03% of the stock of Microsoft is held by insiders.
Percentage Held by Institutions
69.20% of the stock of Microsoft is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

2.5

Earnings and Valuation

Earnings Growth
Earnings for Microsoft are expected to grow by 13.94% in the coming year, from $10.90 to $12.42 per share.
Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market
The P/E ratio of Microsoft is 32.37, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 121.11.
Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector
The P/E ratio of Microsoft is 32.37, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Computer and Technology sector average P/E ratio of about 255.01.
Price to Earnings Growth Ratio
Microsoft has a PEG Ratio of 2.30. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.
Price to Book Value per Share Ratio
Microsoft has a P/B Ratio of 11.30. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

See Top Rated MarketRank™ Stocks Here

About Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock

Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975 in Albuquerque, New Mexico by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. The two quit their respective Harvard schooling and programming jobs to start a software company focused on the then-popular Altair 8800. Originally named Micro-Soft, Microsoft is a portmanteau of the words microprocessor and software. The company quickly took off and was relocated to Washington State where it is headquartered today.

Microsoft launched a game called Flight Simulator in 1982 that has since become the longest-running video game franchise. The company’s first major breakthrough came in the early 80s when it licensed MS-DOS to IBM for their personal computer and then another came in 1985 the company altered the way computers were used when it launched Windows. Windows used a graphical interface to display information that included drop-down menus, scroll bars, and other features commonly found in operating systems today.

Microsoft went public in 1986 making founder Bill Gates the world’s youngest billionaire. Other innovations that helped make the company’s name include Windows 95 which included many upgrades to the original and, when the Internet took off, Internet Explorer. Bill Gates gave up his role as CEO in 2000 and the company is now run by Satya Nadella. Mr. Nadella took over the role of CEO in 2014 and then the role of chairman in 2021.

Today the company develops, licenses, and supports software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide. The company operates in three segments that include Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. As of 2022, Microsoft’s Azure powered more than 20% of the Cloud putting it in second place globally.

The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers several software solutions including Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft Viva, and Skype for Business. Microsoft also operates Skype, Outlook.com, OneDrive, and LinkedIn for business professionals as well as Dynamics 365. Dynamics 365 is a set of cloud-based and on-premises business solutions for organizations and enterprises of all sizes.

The Intelligent Cloud segment licenses SQL, Windows Servers, Visual Studio, System Center, and related Client Access Licenses. Microsoft Intelligent Cloud also operates GitHub which is a collaboration platform and code hosting service for developers. Intelligent Cloud also hosts Nuance healthcare and enterprise AI solutions, and Azure, a cloud platform, as well as associated services.

The More Personal Computing segment provides Windows original equipment manufacturer (OEM) licensing and other licensing of the Windows family of operating systems. This includes Windows Commercial, Windows cloud services, and Windows Internet of Things.

The More Personal Computing segment also offers Surface, PC accessories, PCs, tablets, gaming and entertainment consoles, Xbox hardware, and Xbox content and services including video games and third-party video game royalties. The company sells its products through OEMs, distributors, and resellers; and directly through digital marketplaces, online stores, and retail stores.

MSFT Price History

30 days | 90 days | 365 days | Advanced Chart

MSFT Stock News Headlines

September 29, 2023 | marketbeat.com

What's Really Behind The FTC's Lawsuit Targeting of Amazon? (MSFT)

Regulators have sued Amazon, alleging price suppression that harms consumers. It's not clear that the company will be broken up as a result of the suit.

September 28, 2023 | marketbeat.com

8 Best Artificial Intelligence Stocks Under $10 (MSFT)

If you want to get in on artificial intelligence (AI) but don’t want to spend a lot, why not consider artificial intelligence stocks under $10? Learn more.

September 29, 2023 | Micro-Cap Stock Trader (Ad)

U.S. drive to onshore battery supply chains could create big winners in lithium

Investor Find Lithium Gold and Crush the Bear Market with 32k Metric Tons

September 28, 2023 | marketbeat.com

3 Intriguing ETFs Trading Under $10 a Share (MSFT)

There is a short list of low-cost, low-priced ETFs that could serve as nice 'satellite' holdings for a small, diversified portfolio — including these three

September 27, 2023 | marketbeat.com

3 Growing Tech Stocks To Put On Your M&A Watchlist (MSFT)

Cisco's purchase of Splunk raises many questions, and one of them is which tech companies will be acquired next; here are three possibilities

September 27, 2023 | marketbeat.com

Big Tech Titans Feel the Chill as AI Stocks Slide (MSFT)

Tech stocks, driven by AI enthusiasm, face a slump as investors demand AI-generated revenue, not just promises. Rising interest rates are adding to tech's woes.

September 26, 2023 | marketbeat.com

AI Race Accelerates with Amazon's Investment In Anthropic (MSFT)

Amazon's $4 billion stake in Anthropic signals a strong push into the AI space. Amazon aims to use Anthropic's generative AI models for enhanced applications.

September 25, 2023 | marketbeat.com

AI Boosts Duolingo As Company Posts First Profit (MSFT)

Duolingo, with a 114.64% year-to-date stock increase, embraced AI early, while Chegg declined due to AI competition. Duolingo recently posted its first profit.

September 29, 2023 | Micro-Cap Stock Trader (Ad)

U.S. drive to onshore battery supply chains could create big winners in lithium

Investor Find Lithium Gold and Crush the Bear Market with 32k Metric Tons

September 25, 2023 | marketbeat.com

Is Datadog a Buyout Target After Cisco's Splunk Acquisition? (MSFT)

Given the anticipated growth in cybersecurity software, Datadog may already be getting some takeover bites from large cap tech.

September 23, 2023 | marketbeat.com

MarketBeat Week in Review – 9/18 - 9/22 (MSFT)

Stocks ended the week with losses as investors absorbed the reality of higher for longer interest rates and the end of a quarter will bring more volatility

September 22, 2023 | marketbeat.com

Microsoft's revamped $69 billion deal for Activision gets closer to UK approval

British competition regulators has signaled that Microsoft’s restructured $69 billion deal to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard is likely to receive antitrust approval

September 29, 2023 | fool.com

Microsoft Boosts Its Dividend Again. Here's How High the Payout Could Get Over the Next 20 Years

September 29, 2023 | rttnews.com

Reports Say Microsoft Considered Selling Bing To Apple To Replace Google

September 28, 2023 | msn.com

A Fractional Slip for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Over Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) Deal

September 28, 2023 | cnbc.com

AMD's stock pops after Microsoft tech chief touts chipmaker's AI products

September 28, 2023 | msn.com

Microsoft's Security Glitch Reportedly Resulted In Chinese Hackers Infiltrating 60K US State Department Emails

September 28, 2023 | msn.com

ChatGPT Bing Update Could Bolster Microsoft’s Standing in AI Market

September 28, 2023 | msn.com

AMD Stock Surges The Most Since June As Microsoft CTO Hails Firm's AI Progress

September 28, 2023 | msn.com

Microsoft's AI Push: Cloudflare Collaboration, Bing's AI Chatbot, and Amadeus Partnership for Corporate Travel