Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given New $472.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price objective trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $530.00 to $472.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the software giant’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on MSFT. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $470.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.97.

Microsoft Trading Down 3.7 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $371.61 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $390.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $413.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.92, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. BCK Partners Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,380,000 after buying an additional 25 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.