Company Update (NASDAQ:MSFT): Will Microsoft Corporation Raise Its Dividend in 2016?

[at Motley Fool] – Microsoft’s dividend prowess looks to make 2016 a great year for income investors, but larger issues still cloud its long-term investment outlook. Read more on this. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) , with a current value of $443.17B, started the session at $56.08. Looking at the equity, the company’s one day range is $55.42 to $56.19 with its 52-week range being $39.72 to $56.85. Microsoft (MSFT) shares are currently priced at 20.56x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 12.56x earnings multiple for the same period. The company pays shareholders $1.44 per share in dividend income per year, for a current yield of 2.55%. According to a consensus of 27 analysts, the earnings estimate of $0.71 per share would be $0.00 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.01 sequential decrease. The full-year EPS estimate is $2.75 which would be a $0.29 improvement than last year’s full-year earnings. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $25.23 Billion. If reported, that would be a 4.68% decrease over the year-ago quarter. More recently, Goldman upgraded MSFT from Sell to Neutral (Dec 18, 2015). Previously, BofA/Merrill upgraded MSFT from Neutral to Buy. The average price target for MSFT shares by the analysts covering the stock is $57.00, which is 1.64% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NASDAQ:MSFT) Similar Articles: Stock Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Analyst: 2016 will be a ‘206 area code street battle for the cloud’ and Microsoft could beat Amazon Company Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Up on New Financial Reporting Structure Market Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Microsoft Announces Increase in Quarterly Dividend