Piper Sandler Trims Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Target Price to $470.00

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price objective lowered by Piper Sandler from $485.00 to $470.00 in a research report released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the software giant’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp raised their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $495.68.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $418.78 on Friday. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $324.39 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $419.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $424.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.26, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.