Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Earns Hold Rating from Westpark Capital

Key Points

• Westpark Capital has reaffirmed a "hold" rating for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a recent research note, despite other analysts recommending a higher target price.
• Microsoft reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $3.35, with a revenue of $76.44 billion which was above the expected $73.79 billion.
• Insiders have sold a total of 135,743 shares of Microsoft in the last quarter, with significant transactions leading to a notable decrease in their ownership percentages.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating restated by research analysts at Westpark Capital in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8%

NASDAQ MSFT traded down $9.39 on Thursday, reaching $524.11. 28,948,527 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,331,950. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $489.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $434.88. The company has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 60,743 shares of company stock worth $27,520,933. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Newton One Investments LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.