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

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $384.45.

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James increased their target price on Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Fundamental Research set a $298.10 price objective on Microsoft and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, Redburn Partners cut their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 11th.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Journey Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 82,994 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $26,205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 530,811 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $167,602,000 after buying an additional 8,238 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 123,539 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,007,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY grew its stake in Microsoft by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY now owns 30,091 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,501,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 343,768 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $108,545,000 after buying an additional 9,598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $369.67 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $334.54 and a 200-day moving average of $330.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.88. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $219.35 and a 12-month high of $373.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $56.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.52 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 35.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 11.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.33%.

Microsoft Company Profile

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.