Guggenheim Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating restated by Guggenheim in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on MSFT. Bank of America reduced their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson raised shares of Microsoft from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 target price (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $494.80.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT traded up $10.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $376.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,684,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,189,285. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $386.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $411.95. The company has a market cap of $2.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Microsoft

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.