Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Up 0.4% - Should You Buy?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) shares shot up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $395.40 and last traded at $393.01. 5,859,421 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 19,283,905 shares. The stock had previously closed at $391.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $510.59.

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Microsoft Stock Up 0.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $407.20 and a 200-day moving average of $419.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. BCK Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant's stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequent Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant's stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.