Microsoft’s (MSFT) Overweight Rating Reiterated at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $509.00 price target on the software giant’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald also issued estimates for Microsoft’s FY2025 earnings at $13.19 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on MSFT. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $415.06 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $432.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $424.88. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $385.58 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.38% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft will post 12.89 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was 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 directly owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This trade represents a 4.82 % 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, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Joel Adams & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $720,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 148,268 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $62,495,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 12,075 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,090,000 after buying an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Finally, Timber Creek Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 39,541 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,667,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.