Market Update (NASDAQ:MSFT): Microsoft finally buys Yahoo, but it’s called LinkedIn

[at MarketWatch] – Microsoft Corp. has a dismal history of overpaying for huge acquisitions that don’t work out, and Chief Executive Satya Nadella’s first large purchase as chief executive doesn’t appear to break that trend…. Read more on this. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) , valued at $393.89B, started trading this morning at $49.58. During the trading session, MSFT traded between $49.06 to $50.72 and has traded between $39.72 and $56.85 over the past 12 months. Priced at 19.28x this year’s forecasted earnings, MSFT shares are relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 0.54x forward p/e ratio. And for income investors, the company pays shareholders $1.44 per share annually in dividends, yielding 2.80%. According to a consensus of 29 analysts, the earnings estimate of $0.58 per share would be $0.02 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.09 sequential decrease. The full-year EPS estimate is $2.67 which would be a $0.21 better than last year’s full-year earnings. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $22.17 Billion. If realized, that would be a 0.05% decrease over the year-ago quarter. More recently, Macquarie Initiated MSFT at Neutral (Mar 4, 2016). Previously, Morgan Stanley upgraded MSFT from Equal-Weight to Overweight. The average price target for MSFT shares by the analysts covering the stock is $57.79, which is 16.56% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NASDAQ:MSFT) Similar Articles: Market Update (NASDAQ:MSFT): Microsoft Finally Reveals Long-Awaited Xbox One Feature Market Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Yahoo! (YHOO) Stock Climbs on Potential Microsoft Deal Company Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Microsoft’s underwater data center called its ‘most intriguing project’ in almost 40 years