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

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-three ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $494.72.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho upped their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $435.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.68, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $422.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $423.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $309.45 and a 12 month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. 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 acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.