Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

by · The Cerbat Gem

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the forty-three ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $632.3421.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $625.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Microsoft to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $483.47 on Friday. Microsoft has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $3.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.39, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $504.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $501.85.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Microsoft

(Get Free Report)

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.

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