Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 91,928 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 352% compared to the average volume of 20,348 put options.
Shares of Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) opened at 73.60 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $567.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.16 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $70.93 and its 200 day moving average is $67.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $55.61 and a 1-year high of $74.30.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 20th. The software giant reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $24.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.29 billion. Microsoft Corporation had a net margin of 23.57% and a return on equity of 36.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post $3.25 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Microsoft Corporation’s payout ratio is currently 57.78%.
In other news, EVP Christopher C. Capossela sold 4,927 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.75, for a total transaction of $338,731.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 214,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,718,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher C. Capossela sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.11, for a total value of $207,330.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 216,507 shares in the company, valued at $14,962,798.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,060,786 shares of company stock worth $831,893,332 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northstar Group Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft Corporation by 0.3% in the first quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 3,790 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Gierl Augustine Investment Management Inc boosted its position in Microsoft Corporation by 0.3% in the first quarter. Gierl Augustine Investment Management Inc now owns 4,034 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. New Capital Management LP boosted its position in Microsoft Corporation by 0.5% in the first quarter. New Capital Management LP now owns 4,305 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Nottingham Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft Corporation by 0.4% in the second quarter. Nottingham Advisors Inc. now owns 5,399 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Appropriate Balance Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft Corporation by 4.7% in the second quarter. Appropriate Balance Financial Services Inc. now owns 643 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,331,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. 72.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
A number of equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $77.00 target price on Microsoft Corporation and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial, Inc. reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of Microsoft Corporation in a report on Monday, May 1st. Pacific Crest reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Microsoft Corporation in a report on Friday, April 28th. Vetr raised Microsoft Corporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.87 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 17th. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) raised their target price on Microsoft Corporation from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.80.
Microsoft Corporation Company Profile
Microsoft Corporation is a technology company. The Company develops, licenses, and supports a range of software products, services and devices. The Company’s segments include Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud and More Personal Computing. The Company’s products include operating systems; cross-device productivity applications; server applications; business solution applications; desktop and server management tools; software development tools; video games, and training and certification of computer system integrators and developers.
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