Microsoft (MSFT) Competitors

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, media sentiment and profitability.

Is AAPL or MSFT a better dividend stock?

Apple pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Microsoft pays an annual dividend of $3.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Apple pays out 15.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Microsoft pays out 24.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Apple has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Microsoft has raised its dividend for 23 consecutive years. Microsoft is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts prefer AAPL or MSFT?

Apple currently has a consensus price target of $237.37, suggesting a potential upside of 2.25%. Microsoft has a consensus price target of $612.54, suggesting a potential upside of 20.89%. Given Microsoft's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Microsoft is more favorable than Apple.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apple	2 Sell rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.57
Microsoft	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	29 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.97

Which has more risk and volatility, AAPL or MSFT?

Apple has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Microsoft has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, AAPL or MSFT?

Microsoft has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Apple. Apple is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Microsoft, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Apple	$391.04B	8.81	$93.74B	$6.59	35.23
Microsoft	$281.72B	13.37	$101.83B	$13.64	37.15

Is AAPL or MSFT more profitable?

Microsoft has a net margin of 36.15% compared to Apple's net margin of 24.30%. Apple's return on equity of 170.91% beat Microsoft's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Apple	24.30%	170.91%	31.94%
Microsoft	36.15%	32.44%	18.20%

Does the media prefer AAPL or MSFT?

In the previous week, Apple had 58 more articles in the media than Microsoft. MarketBeat recorded 269 mentions for Apple and 211 mentions for Microsoft. Microsoft's average media sentiment score of 1.11 beat Apple's score of 0.92 indicating that Microsoft is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Apple	175 Very Positive mention(s)	37 Positive mention(s)	32 Neutral mention(s)	18 Negative mention(s)	6 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Microsoft	158 Very Positive mention(s)	14 Positive mention(s)	15 Neutral mention(s)	17 Negative mention(s)	5 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of AAPL or MSFT?

67.7% of Apple shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.1% of Microsoft shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Apple shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Microsoft shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Microsoft beats Apple on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.