Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

MSFT has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $513.13.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of MSFT opened at $454.86 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $401.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $413.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Newton One Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.