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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $287.02 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $263.64 and a 200-day moving average of $279.64. Microsoft has a twelve month low of $241.51 and a twelve month high of $349.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.93.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 26th. The software giant reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 17th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 25.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $320.00 to $275.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 29th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 27th. Redburn Partners began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, June 29th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $370.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $325.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, June 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $335.72.