Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Rating Lowered to Hold at Mizuho
Mizuho downgraded Microsoft's stock from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating. Despite this, other analysts maintain positive ratings, with some increasing price targets. Microsoft's recent earnings exceeded expectations, with significant revenue growth. Insider trading activity includes sales by CEO Satya Nadella and insider Bradford L. Smith. Institutional investors have adjusted their holdings, with some increasing their stakes in Microsoft.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Mizuho from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.
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Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Arete Research raised their price objective on Microsoft from $710.00 to $730.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $625.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Guggenheim set a $675.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $634.33.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MSFT
Microsoft Price Performance
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MSFT stock opened at $487.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $514.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $498.25. Microsoft has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity at Microsoft
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In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total transaction of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at $239,402,668.08. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of Microsoft
Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,496,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Real Talk Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% during the first quarter. Real Talk Capital LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the software giant's stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% in the second quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 922,524 shares of the software giant's stock worth $457,119,000 after acquiring an additional 33,382 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 39.3% in the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 144,852 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $54,376,000 after acquiring an additional 40,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Well Done LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 9,911 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,930,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.
About Microsoft
(Get Free Report)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.
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