Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Lowered to $435.00 at Piper Sandler

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) had its target price reduced by Piper Sandler from $520.00 to $435.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the software giant's stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Westpark Capital began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. 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 report on Friday, March 7th. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $470.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $493.89.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $4.55 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $391.85. 18,959,931 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,169,050. The stock's fifty day moving average is $384.93 and its 200 day moving average is $411.39. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.55, a P/E/G 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.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 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.