Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFTGet Free Report) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $511.62.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $417.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.42, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $429.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $426.98. Microsoft has a 52-week low of $384.81 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30.

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

Microsoft declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 12,435 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,558,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 5,450 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 20,385 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,111,000 after acquiring an additional 3,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,782 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,031,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Microsoft

(Get Free Report)

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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