Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Receives “Overweight” Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $509.00 price target on the software giant’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $512.66.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $442.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $432.01 and its 200-day moving average is $425.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft has a 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management lifted its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by 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.