Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given “Outperform” Rating at Wedbush

Wedbush restated their outperform rating on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a $550.00 target price on the software giant’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Loop Capital upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.59.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $386.84 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $409.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $419.85. The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft has a fifty-two week low of $376.91 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% in the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,399,000 after buying an additional 18,544 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $32,830,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Campbell Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth $3,314,000. Finally, Evernest Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 389.2% during the third quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 53,770 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,137,000 after acquiring an additional 42,778 shares during the period. 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.