Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 1.9% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded down 1.9% on Monday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $475.00 to $430.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Microsoft traded as low as $359.56 and last traded at $360.61. 3,981,079 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 24,100,369 shares. The stock had previously closed at $367.78.

MSFT has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Scotiabank started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $497.63.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $388.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $412.70.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 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.