Microsoft Stock History: Microsoft – To Buy or Not to Buy?

Microsoft Stock History: On one side of things, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a stock that many people want to own because of its stability. On the other side of things, investors often times ask themselves why they are buying shares of the company.

Although it has yet to happen, people are on the edge of their seat wondering when Microsoft Corporation will release the “next big thing” which allows it to break out from the shadows and prove its prominence once again.

Jeff Reeves of MarketWatch recently took a closer look at this phenomenon in his piece entitled: Microsoft: Nothing to offer beyond the Dividend

He starts off by noting the following:

“To be clear, I’m not one of those post-PC bears who thinks Microsoft is doomed. I believe Microsoft will be around for many years to come.”

As you can see, he shares the same sentiment as many. It is not that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is doomed for failure at some point in the near future. that being said, it is hard to imagine a situation in which the stock is going to take off and offer better returns.

For those who are unfamiliar with the way things usually work with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) stock, Reeves does a great job by offering the following rundown:

“Valuation: The valuation is more than fair, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.7 according to Standard & Poor’s fiscal 2013 forecasts of $2.88 in EPS. Use full-year 2014 forecasts of $3.11, and you get close to 9.0.”

“Cash: Microsoft has $66 billion in cash — enough to buy both Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Dell (DELL) combined. Even though almost $58 billion of that is overseas and could be subject to taxes if repatriated, that’s a huge chunk of change.”

“Windows Isn’t Dead: Windows and Office remain dominant and profitable. While tablets are ascendant, desktops and laptops will remain necessary to the workplace in some form for many years.”

“Sleepy But Profitable Products: While Bing or the Windows Phone or Surface lack the dominance of Windows, that doesn’t mean they are failures. Sure, they may never have a cult following, but that doesn’t mean they don’t make money.”

“Dividend: Microsoft has more than doubled its dividend in the last five years to 92 cents annually — a roughly 3.3% yield — and the payout ratio is a very sustainable 31% in fiscal 2013 that could signal further continued increases in years ahead.”