Morgan Stanley Cuts Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target to $472.00

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $530.00 to $472.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the software giant’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on MSFT. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Westpark Capital began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $475.00 price objective (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.97.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $367.78 on Wednesday. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $388.25 and a 200 day moving average of $412.78. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BCK Partners Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.