Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-nine research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $509.90.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $438.11 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $428.65 and its 200-day moving average is $428.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft has a fifty-two week low of $366.50 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

About Microsoft

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.