Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 2.7% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded up 2.7% during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $548.28 and last traded at $545.18. 25,227,913 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 33,495,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $530.61.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

These are some of the MSFT stories that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and IBM launched Imagine Enterprise, combining IBM’s AI agents with Microsoft’s cloud, data and security services. The partnership could support enterprise adoption of Microsoft’s AI platform. IBM and Microsoft announce an AI agent platform
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft has reportedly urged the U.S. administration to reconsider a possible ban on Chinese data-center components, warning that restrictions could complicate equipment supply and infrastructure rollouts. The impact depends on the policy outcome. Microsoft raises concerns about a potential data-center technology ban
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic’s new workplace tools for spreadsheets, whiteboards and dashboards have heightened concern that it could challenge Microsoft 365 and Copilot, putting pressure on expectations for its productivity-software business. Microsoft shares react to Anthropic’s workplace tools

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. Phillip Securities lowered Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Microsoft from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $609.54.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.3%

The company has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $517.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $441.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.37, for a total value of $3,976,622.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 548,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,364,297.67. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 142,809 shares of company stock valued at $72,114,646 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montgomery Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Frankly Finances LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 37.4% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, and digital solutions for consumers, businesses, and public-sector organizations. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Azure cloud computing, LinkedIn, GitHub, Surface devices, and Xbox gaming products and services. Microsoft also provides business software, cybersecurity tools, and artificial intelligence technologies.