Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) PT Lowered to $500.00 at Sanford C. Bernstein

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price target decreased by Sanford C. Bernstein from $501.00 to $500.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has an outperform rating on the software giant’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer lowered Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $502.97.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $426.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $331.83 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $420.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.58. The firm has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.12, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.40%.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 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.