Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Now Covered by Analysts at Scotiabank

Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a research note released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a sector outperform rating and a $470.00 price target on the software giant’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.59.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $391.26 on Thursday. Microsoft has a 1 year low of $376.91 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $408.82 and a 200 day moving average of $419.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (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 firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.