Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 0.6% – Here’s What Happened

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price rose 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $423.18 and last traded at $422.71. Approximately 3,807,417 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 20,363,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $420.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. DA Davidson cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.03.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $420.74 and a 200-day moving average of $424.80. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.95 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vicus Capital raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 92,924 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,095,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 178.0% during the first quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 645 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 24.1% in the first quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 427 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 11,842 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,982,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.3% during the first quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,813 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,908,000 after buying an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by 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.