Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Up 0.1%

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) traded up 0.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $423.65 and last traded at $422.15. 4,067,285 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 20,872,826 shares. The stock had previously closed at $421.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $506.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and set a $455.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $494.72.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $436.59 and a 200 day moving average of $422.56. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.64, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.97%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Richardson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. 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.