Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Earns Outperform Rating from Wedbush

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by research analysts at Wedbush in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,RTT News reports. They presently have a $550.00 price target on the software giant’s stock. Wedbush’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 32.37% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, DA Davidson cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.6 %

Microsoft stock opened at $415.49 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $362.90 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $422.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $426.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. This represents a 8.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. The trade was a 7.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 197,829 shares of company stock valued at $80,966,837 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.