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

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-one analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $508.86.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $359.84 on Friday. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $359.48 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $399.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $417.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.