Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading 0.8% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price shot up 0.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $393.18 and last traded at $391.60. 4,476,065 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 22,654,004 shares. The stock had previously closed at $388.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

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 cap of $2.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.88, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $418.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $422.36.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,690 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $13,351,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Probity Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 20,743 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,743,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,066 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares during the period. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $672,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,514 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.