Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Should You Buy?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares traded up 0.4% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $395.40 and last traded at $393.01. 5,859,421 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 19,283,905 shares. The stock had previously closed at $391.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Tigress Financial boosted 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. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” 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-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.59.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $408.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $419.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 7.6% during the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $113,399,000 after buying an additional 18,544 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $32,830,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management bought a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,314,000. Finally, Evernest Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 389.2% in the 3rd quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 53,770 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,137,000 after acquiring an additional 42,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.