Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading 0% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) were up 0% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $426.73 and last traded at $424.84. Approximately 2,134,671 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 20,545,061 shares. The stock had previously closed at $424.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Mizuho upped their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.90.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.92, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $428.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $428.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.99 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 11,090 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,957,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Dougherty Wealth Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dougherty Wealth Advisers LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,621 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $12,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VanderPol Investments L.L.C. increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. VanderPol Investments L.L.C. now owns 1,628 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.