Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Up 0.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) were up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $452.80 and last traded at $451.83. Approximately 3,739,619 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 20,486,896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $451.59.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $508.46.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.1 %

The company’s 50-day moving average is $426.19 and its 200 day moving average is $428.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.