Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFTGet Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $525.00 to $510.00. The stock had previously closed at $442.33, but opened at $418.77. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Microsoft shares last traded at $416.78, with a volume of 10,739,359 shares changing hands.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 28th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.72.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,790,682,000 after buying an additional 3,264,648 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,490,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125,030 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,229,125 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $20,322,513,000 after acquiring an additional 652,493 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 48,526.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,567,258,000 after purchasing an additional 38,422,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,104,959,000 after purchasing an additional 406,940 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $432.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $424.95.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFTGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Microsoft Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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