Microsoft shares upgraded to 'buy'
SeattlePI | at | by Mike
Shares of Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, were upgraded to "buy" yesterday by Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst Jason Maynard, who raised his fiscal 2004 profit estimate and said Microsoft may boost its dividend. Maynard, hired by Merrill in March, wrote to clients that he estimates Microsoft earned 24 cents in the quarter ended Monday, a 1-cent increase in his forecast. He raised his rating from "neutral" and put Microsoft on the Focus One list of Merrill's favorite stocks.