Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Here’s What Happened

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shot up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $393.89 and last traded at $392.74. 4,412,675 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 21,186,821 shares. The stock had previously closed at $388.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 target price (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 7th. DA Davidson raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.86.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $2.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.05, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $391.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $414.41.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. BCK Partners Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% in the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is 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.