Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Coverage Initiated at Westpark Capital

Westpark Capital initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm issued a hold rating on the software giant’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $508.86.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $382.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $403.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price 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 has a 52-week low of $367.24 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.87%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.73%.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management increased its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is 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.