Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Up 0.9% – Time to Buy?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shot up 0.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $413.53 and last traded at $412.22. 4,216,313 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 20,348,707 shares. The stock had previously closed at $408.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus upped their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $420.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.74.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.75%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 667,987,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $281,035,506,000 after acquiring an additional 3,078,099 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 83,571,070 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,160,020,000 after purchasing an additional 842,884 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 48,526.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,567,258,000 after purchasing an additional 38,422,466 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 34,511,544 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,426,767,000 after buying an additional 97,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,091,789 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,768,771,000 after buying an additional 1,563,533 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.