Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $510.96.

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $388.61 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $418.73 and its 200 day moving average is $422.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.29, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft has a twelve month low of $381.00 and a twelve month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.