StockNews.com Upgrades Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $509.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $512.66.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $446.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $429.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $425.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $385.58 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft will post 12.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.