Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Up 0.1% - Should You Buy?

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) were up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $391.20 and last traded at $390.41. Approximately 3,470,304 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 19,257,920 shares. The stock had previously closed at $389.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $510.59.

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Microsoft Stock Down 3.0 %

The company has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The business's fifty day moving average is $405.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $419.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. 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 made changes to their positions in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st 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. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,799,261 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,204,664,000 after buying an additional 49,735 shares during the last quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 466,344 shares of the software giant's stock worth $200,664,000 after acquiring an additional 10,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 522,876 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $224,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,464 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.