Company Update (NASDAQ:MSFT): Former Microsoft financial manager to pay $380K to settle insider trading charges

[at American City Business Journals] – A former Microsoft financial manager will pay out nearly $380,000 to settle insider trading charges after the Securities Exchange Commission found he used confidential information about the company’s Nokia … Read more on this. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) , with a current market cap of $428.26B, started the session at $53.85. Today, shares have traded between $53.74 and $54.33 per share with its 52-week range being $39.72 to $56.85. Priced at 19.55x this year’s forecasted earnings, MSFT shares are relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 16.55x forward p/e ratio. The company pays shareholders $1.44 per share in dividend income per year, for a current yield of 2.67%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 29 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $0.64 per share, which would be $0.03 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.04 sequential decrease. In looking at the bigger picture, the full-year EPS estimate of $2.76 would be a $0.30 better when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $22.10 Billion. If realized, that would be a 1.70% increase over the year-ago quarter. In terms of ratings, Macquarie Initiated MSFT at Neutral (Mar 4, 2016). Previously, Morgan Stanley upgraded MSFT from Equal-Weight to Overweight. With the above information in mind, readers should note that the average price target is $58.73, which is 9.06% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NASDAQ:MSFT) Similar Articles: Company Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Why Microsoft Just Bought More Minecraft Stock Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – MICROSOFT IS UP 10%: Here’s what a one-point move in MSFT does to the Dow Company Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Up on New Financial Reporting Structure