Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Lowered to $430.00 at Barclays

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) had its price objective reduced by Barclays from $475.00 to $430.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the software giant's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MSFT. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $493.13.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded up $12.91 during trading on Monday, reaching $387.30. 22,177,077 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,289,472. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $385.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $411.70. The company has a market cap of $2.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.18, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,343,058,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 40,290.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant's stock worth $17,528,950,000 after acquiring an additional 46,579,693 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 34,643.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,096,913,000 after purchasing an additional 16,788,816 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock worth $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

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.