Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $540.00 to $530.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the software giant's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price indicates a potential upside of 27.69% from the company's previous close.
MSFT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $510.96.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Microsoft
Microsoft Stock Up 0.0 %
NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $415.06. The company had a trading volume of 34,151,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,687,650. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $432.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $424.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $385.58 and a 12-month high of $468.35.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.38% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity
In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. Insiders sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 4.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant's stock worth $23,490,417,000 after buying an additional 2,125,030 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,229,125 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $20,322,513,000 after acquiring an additional 652,493 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 48,526.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant's stock worth $16,567,258,000 after purchasing an additional 38,422,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $16,104,959,000 after purchasing an additional 406,940 shares during 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.
Read More
Before you consider Microsoft, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Microsoft wasn't on the list.
While Microsoft currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Discover the 10 Best High-Yield Dividend Stocks for 2025 and secure reliable income in uncertain markets. Download the report now to identify top dividend payers and avoid common yield traps.
Get This Free Report