Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Loop Capital Analyst Says

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) had its price target upped by Loop Capital from $550.00 to $600.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Loop Capital currently has a buy rating on the software giant's stock.

MSFT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $551.21.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.6%

Microsoft stock traded up $2.83 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $513.71. 19,103,456 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,594,816. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $483.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $431.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $3.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.70, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $518.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Newton One Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% in the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.