Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 0% After Analyst Downgrade

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) was down 0% on Thursday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $530.00 to $472.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Microsoft traded as low as $368.63 and last traded at $371.59. Approximately 5,644,752 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 21,197,917 shares. The stock had previously closed at $371.61.

A number of other analysts have also commented on MSFT. UBS Group dropped their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Westpark Capital began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $470.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.97.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $388.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $412.78. The company has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. 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 given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

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.