Analysts Set Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Target Price at $513.89

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the thirty-three research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $515.68.

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup raised their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT traded down $3.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $474.96. The stock had a trading volume of 16,804,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,485,191. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $480.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.24, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50-day moving average is $425.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $418.26.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 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.