Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Earns Sector Outperform Rating from Analysts at Scotiabank

Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a sector outperform rating and a $470.00 price target on the software giant’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.59.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $391.26 on Thursday. 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 has a 52-week low of $376.91 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $408.82 and its 200 day moving average is $419.67.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is 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.