Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Up 0.6%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares traded up 0.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $420.94 and last traded at $419.18. 3,398,515 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 20,893,133 shares. The stock had previously closed at $416.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.72.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $436.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $422.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total value of $134,145.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Center For Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 12,919 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,858,000 after purchasing an additional 3,778 shares in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 39,730 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,940,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,698 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,399,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 16,615 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 305,263 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $114,791,000 after acquiring an additional 43,973 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Microsoft

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.