Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given New $472.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $530.00 to $472.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the software giant’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 28.34% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on MSFT. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank began coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 target price (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $499.97.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $367.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $389.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $413.21. Microsoft has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in 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 acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently 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.