Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 1.5% - What's Next?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $380.25 and last traded at $381.05. 5,930,312 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 20,525,865 shares. The stock had previously closed at $375.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $508.86.

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Microsoft Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $402.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $418.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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 return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BCK Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during 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 lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.3% in the third quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant's stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.