Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Short Interest Up 23.7% in February

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 66,330,000 shares, a growth of 23.7% from the February 13th total of 53,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 22,750,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT traded up $2.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $385.70. The stock had a trading volume of 3,853,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,211,842. 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 $2.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.06, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft has a 52 week low of $376.91 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $410.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $420.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 earned $2.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Mizuho decreased their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.43.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at about $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $113,399,000 after acquiring an additional 18,544 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $41,318,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth $3,314,000. 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.