Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Sets New 1-Year Low - Here's Why

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $344.79 and last traded at $346.81, with a volume of 7432042 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $359.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $505.41.

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Microsoft Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $392.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $414.81. The company has a market cap of $2.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,799,261 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,204,664,000 after purchasing an additional 49,735 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 410.4% during the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,689,356 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,890,530,000 after buying an additional 49,288 shares during the period. 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.