Microsoft’s (MSFT) Buy Rating Reiterated at DZ Bank

DZ Bank reissued their buy rating on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a research report report published on Thursday,MarketScreener Latest Ratings reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $640.00 target price on Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Bank of America raised their price target on Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $640.00 price target on Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday. Redburn Partners set a $560.00 price target on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $634.67.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $517.81 on Thursday. Microsoft has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $513.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $487.54. The company has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 35.71%.The company had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.89%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.