Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading 0.6% Higher – Here’s Why

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares rose 0.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $458.66 and last traded at $456.86. Approximately 6,145,851 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 21,506,992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $454.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.30.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $398.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $413.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,243 shares of company stock worth $48,619,618 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newton One Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.