Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 2.1%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares traded up 2.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $441.31 and last traded at $439.67. 4,826,956 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 20,452,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $430.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, New Street Research assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.72.

Microsoft Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $420.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $424.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last quarter. 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 business. Monument Capital Management grew its position in Microsoft by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 31,264 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $11,756,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 19,980 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,513,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 143.5% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 384,058 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $144,421,000 after acquiring an additional 226,357 shares in the last quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,396,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the period. Finally, Gimbal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,399,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.