Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading 0.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded up 0.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $420.69 and last traded at $416.70. 9,977,451 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 21,867,248 shares. The stock had previously closed at $414.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.72.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $432.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $424.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.38% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAM Holding AG lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 184,647 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $77,829,000 after purchasing an additional 23,317 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 98,653 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $41,582,000 after acquiring an additional 8,364 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 12,472 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,257,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens & Northern Corp boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 32,618 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $13,748,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

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.