Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 0.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) dropped 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $376.62 and last traded at $381.59. Approximately 3,332,156 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 20,528,821 shares. The stock had previously closed at $382.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Tigress Financial increased 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.86.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $403.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $418.45. 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 $2.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.86, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its 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 prior year, the company posted $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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 3,210 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 53,846 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $20,213,000 after acquiring an additional 7,946 shares during the period. Hobart Private Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 61.2% during the 1st quarter. Hobart Private Capital LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,326,000 after buying an additional 1,341 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the first quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 16,687 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,264,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the first quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 173,485 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $65,125,000 after buying an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. 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.