Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Short Interest Up 23.7% in February

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 66,330,000 shares, a growth of 23.7% from the February 13th total of 53,630,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 22,750,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.43.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.6 %

Microsoft stock traded up $2.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $385.70. 3,853,137 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,211,842. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $410.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $420.28. Microsoft has a 52-week low of $376.91 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

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.