Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shot up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $449.39 and last traded at $449.19. 3,671,837 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 20,478,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $443.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.43.

Microsoft Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $423.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $427.51.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% during the third quarter. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,819 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,225,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS lifted its stake in Microsoft by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 44,895 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $19,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,933 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,153,000. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 3.5% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 23,905 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,286,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,488 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,809,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.