Microsoft (MSFT) – Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Updates

Posted by Elija Maina on Dec 26th, 2024

A number of research firms have changed their ratings and price targets for Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT):

12/23/2024 – Microsoft had its price target raised by analysts at Loop Capital from $500.00 to $550.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
12/20/2024 – Microsoft was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
12/18/2024 – Microsoft had its price target raised by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $475.00 to $515.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
12/18/2024 – Microsoft had its price target raised by analysts at UBS Group AG from $500.00 to $525.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
12/13/2024 – Microsoft had its price target raised by analysts at Mizuho from $480.00 to $510.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
12/12/2024 – Microsoft was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
12/3/2024 – Microsoft was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
11/19/2024 – Microsoft had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Wedbush. They now have a $550.00 price target on the stock.
11/5/2024 – Microsoft had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada. They now have a $500.00 price target on the stock.
10/31/2024 – Microsoft had its price target lowered by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $470.00 to $465.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
10/31/2024 – Microsoft had its price target raised by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $506.00 to $548.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
10/31/2024 – Microsoft had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Piper Sandler. They now have a $470.00 price target on the stock.
10/31/2024 – Microsoft had its price target lowered by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $500.00 to $495.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
10/31/2024 – Microsoft had its price target lowered by analysts at UBS Group AG from $510.00 to $500.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
10/31/2024 – Microsoft had its price target lowered by analysts at TD Cowen from $495.00 to $475.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
10/28/2024 – Microsoft had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Truist Financial Co.. They now have a $600.00 price target on the stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $0.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $439.54. The stock had a trading volume of 4,768,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,645,059. The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.27, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $366.50 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $428.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $428.80.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Rebalance LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% in the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,309,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.