Microsoft’s (MSFT) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Guggenheim

Guggenheim reissued their neutral rating on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $548.00 to $540.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $509.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $512.66.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $444.06 on Friday. Microsoft has a 52-week low of $385.58 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $431.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $425.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.64, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 12.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at $22,080,578.32. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 21,378 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,011,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Flavin Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,708,000. Mokosak Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $228,000. Calamos Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 224,258 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $94,525,000 after purchasing an additional 3,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patron Partners LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 13,131 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,535,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. 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.