Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Downgraded by Mizuho to “Hold”

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) was downgraded by investment analysts at Mizuho from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Microsoft from $682.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.33.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $487.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $514.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $498.25. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was 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 owned 790,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Real Talk Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Real Talk Capital LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $860,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings 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 increased its position in Microsoft by 39.3% during 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 second quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 9,911 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,930,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. 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.