Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at Westpark Capital

Westpark Capital initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the software giant's stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $508.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock traded up $6.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $382.19. 19,648,293 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,595,340. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $403.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $418.45. Microsoft has a 52-week low of $367.24 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $2.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew 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 buying an additional 35 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management boosted its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.