Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 2.8% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) were down 2.8% during mid-day trading on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $550.00 to $500.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Microsoft traded as low as $367.38 and last traded at $368.11. Approximately 7,444,809 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 20,476,308 shares. The stock had previously closed at $378.80.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $508.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

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

Microsoft Stock Performance

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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $405.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $419.10. The firm has a market cap of $2.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

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.