Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Downgraded by Rothschild Redb to Hold

Rothschild Redb cut shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Redburn Partners set a $560.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective (down previously from $560.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $632.05.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $493.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $514.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $498.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 35.71%.The business had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total transaction of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Real Talk Capital LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% in the first quarter. Real Talk Capital LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 922,524 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $457,119,000 after purchasing an additional 33,382 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 39.3% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 144,852 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $54,376,000 after acquiring an additional 40,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Well Done LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 9,911 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,930,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently 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.