Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated their buy rating on shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a report released on Tuesday, Market Beat reports. The firm currently has a $64.00 price objective on the software giant’s stock.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded up 5.83% during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.09. 83,611,686 shares of the company were exchanged. The company has a market capitalization of $440.05 billion and a P/E ratio of 36.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $53.70 and its 200 day moving average is $49.50. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $39.72 and a 12-month high of $56.85.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 28th. The software giant reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.07. The firm earned $25.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.24 billion. The business’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft will post $2.75 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 16th.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MSFT. Jefferies Group set a $37.00 target price on shares of Microsoft and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Microsoft from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. FBR & Co. restated a buy rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, November 30th. Deutsche Bank restated a buy rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Pacific Crest raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, November 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $56.25.

In related news, insider G Mason Morfit sold 18,650,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.53, for a total value of $998,334,500.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

A number of institutional investors have modified their holdings of MSFT. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,500 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $0 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Wealth Management Partners boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 76.2% in the fourth quarter. Taylor Wealth Management Partners now owns 650 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Baystate Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $256,000. Exchange Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Capital Management now owns 4,783 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $271,000.

Microsoft Corporation is engaged in developing, licensing and supporting a range of software products and services. The Company also designs and sells hardware, and delivers online advertising to the customers. The Company operates in five segments: Devices and Consumer (NASDAQ:MSFT) Licensing, D&C Hardware, D&C Other, Commercial Licensing, and Commercial Other. The Company’s products include operating systems for computing devices, servers, phones, and other intelligent devices; server applications for distributed computing environments; productivity applications; business solution applications; desktop and server management tools; software development tools; video games; and online advertising. It also offers cloud-based solutions that provide customers with software, services and content over the Internet by way of shared computing resources located in centralized data centers. It provides consulting and product and solution support services.

12 Month Chart for NASDAQ:MSFT

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