Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-three analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $515.68.
Several research firms recently commented on MSFT. Citigroup raised their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th.
View Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT
Microsoft Stock Performance
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total value of $460,010.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,647,150.58. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position in Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% in the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 40,586 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $17,464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Allocation Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 13.2% during the third quarter. Asset Allocation Strategies LLC now owns 705 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.
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