Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $377.22 and last traded at $380.16, with a volume of 32715744 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $393.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.54.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.7 %

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 PE ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $413.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $421.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $288,336,224,000 after acquiring an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,720,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,103,212 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $25,273,704,000 after acquiring an additional 5,370,546 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.