Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Up 0.4% – Time to Buy?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s stock price rose 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $391.79 and last traded at $389.43. Approximately 3,340,312 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 19,204,838 shares. The stock had previously closed at $387.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.03.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $410.13 and its 200-day moving average is $420.08. 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) last posted 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. M1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $1,830,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,840,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,931,000. Triton Wealth Management PLLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 7,052 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,961,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 111 Capital acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,187,000. 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.