Microsoft (MSFT) – Analysts’ Recent Ratings Changes

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

• 7/31/2024 – Microsoft had its price target lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $520.00 to $506.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 7/31/2024 – Microsoft had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Piper Sandler. They now have a $485.00 price target on the stock.
• 7/31/2024 – Microsoft had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $500.00 to $515.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 7/31/2024 – Microsoft had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Wedbush. They now have a $550.00 price target on the stock.
• 7/31/2024 – Microsoft had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada. They now have a $500.00 price target on the stock.
• 7/31/2024 – Microsoft had its price target lowered by analysts at UBS Group AG from $520.00 to $510.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 7/31/2024 – Microsoft had its price target lowered by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from $520.00 to $500.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 7/23/2024 – Microsoft had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Piper Sandler. They now have a $485.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $465.00.
• 7/18/2024 – Microsoft had its price target raised by analysts at TD Cowen from $470.00 to $495.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 7/17/2024 – Microsoft had its price target raised by analysts at Bank of America Co. from $480.00 to $510.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 7/16/2024 – Microsoft had its price target raised by analysts at Mizuho from $450.00 to $480.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 7/12/2024 – Microsoft had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Piper Sandler. They now have a $465.00 price target on the stock.
• 7/12/2024 – Microsoft had its price target raised by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $465.00 to $500.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 7/9/2024 – Microsoft had its price target raised by analysts at Argus from $475.00 to $526.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 6/21/2024 – Microsoft had its price target raised by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from $495.00 to $520.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 6/17/2024 – Microsoft had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Truist Financial Co.. They now have a $600.00 price target on the stock.
• 6/13/2024 – Microsoft had its price target raised by analysts at Tigress Financial from $475.00 to $550.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 6/10/2024 – Microsoft is now covered by analysts at New Street Research. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price target on the stock.
• 6/7/2024 – Microsoft had its price target raised by analysts at Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. from $450.00 to $500.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $3.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $415.01. The stock had a trading volume of 19,042,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,781,721. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.93, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average is $440.19 and its 200 day moving average is $421.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $309.45 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 37.13%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.