Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 0% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $386.04 and last traded at $381.44. 5,489,529 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 21,159,400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $381.35.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 price objective (down from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $470.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $503.86.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft
Microsoft Price Performance
The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50-day moving average is $391.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $414.41. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share 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 period last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 26.73%.
Institutional Trading of Microsoft
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.
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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