Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Sets New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $550.00 to $500.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Microsoft traded as low as $368.29 and last traded at $370.46, with a volume of 4077373 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $378.80.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $508.86.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BCK Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.8 %

The company has a market cap of $2.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $403.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $418.45. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

About Microsoft

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.