Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 0.5% – What’s Next?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price traded down 0.5% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $380.08 and last traded at $381.46. 4,816,847 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 23,075,895 shares. The stock had previously closed at $383.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.43.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $413.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $421.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third 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. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.