Microsoft - MSFT Stock Forecast, Price & News

Microsoft Corporation develops, licenses, and supports software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide. Its Productivity and Business Processes segment offers Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Office 365 Security and Compliance, and Skype for Business, as well as related Client Access Licenses (CAL); Skype, Outlook.com, OneDrive, and LinkedIn; and Dynamics 365, a set of cloud-based and on-premises business solutions for organizations and enterprise divisions. Its Intelligent Cloud segment licenses SQL, Windows Servers, Visual Studio, System Center, and related CALs; GitHub that provides a collaboration platform and code hosting service for developers; and Azure, a cloud platform. It also offers support services and Microsoft consulting services to assist customers in developing, deploying, and managing Microsoft server and desktop solutions; and training and certification on Microsoft products. Its More Personal Computing segment provides Windows original equipment manufacturer (OEM) licensing and other non-volume licensing of the Windows operating system; Windows Commercial, such as volume licensing of the Windows operating system, Windows cloud services, and other Windows commercial offerings; patent licensing; Windows Internet of Things; and MSN advertising. It also offers Surface, PC accessories, PCs, tablets, gaming and entertainment consoles, and other devices; Gaming, including Xbox hardware, and Xbox content and services; video games and third-party video game royalties; and Search, including Bing and Microsoft advertising. It sells its products through OEMs, distributors, and resellers; and directly through digital marketplaces, online stores, and retail stores. It has collaborations with Dynatrace, Inc., Morgan Stanley, Micro Focus, WPP plc, ACI Worldwide, Inc., and iCIMS, Inc., as well as strategic relationships with Avaya Holdings Corp. and wejo Limited. Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975 and is based in Redmond, Washington.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $4.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $291.91. The stock had a trading volume of 22,516,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,238,148. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $263.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $279.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.93. Microsoft has a one year low of $241.51 and a one year high of $349.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 26th. The software giant reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.06). Microsoft had a return on equity of 43.31% and a net margin of 36.69%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 18th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $320.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, June 9th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on Microsoft from $320.00 to $275.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 29th. Wedbush lowered their target price on Microsoft from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 27th. Fundamental Research reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $280.50 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, August 3rd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $400.00 target price on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $334.31.