Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) were up 0.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $395.80 and last traded at $395.65. Approximately 4,285,578 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 23,002,182 shares. The stock had previously closed at $393.08.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho decreased 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. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $510.59.
Read Our Latest Analysis on MSFT
Microsoft Price Performance
The stock's 50 day moving average price is $406.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $419.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Microsoft
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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