Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Rating Lowered to Market Perform at Oppenheimer

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Oppenheimer from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. DA Davidson lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $475.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $493.94.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $5.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $414.71. 19,207,608 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,486,127. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $323.18 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $417.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $424.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.