Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Up 0.8% - Still a Buy?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) shares shot up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $413.99 and last traded at $412.97. 5,586,010 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 20,416,510 shares. The stock had previously closed at $409.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $570.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $493.94.

Microsoft Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $417.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.85, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,552,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total transaction of $7,157,129.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares in the company, valued at $61,843,807.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CAP Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $1,665,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 77,190 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,027,000 after buying an additional 6,067 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 605,800 shares of the software giant's stock worth $227,805,000 after buying an additional 22,183 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $13,845,000. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $53,008,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.