Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Raised to $500.00

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Scotiabank from $470.00 to $500.00 in a research note released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a sector outperform rating on the software giant's stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on MSFT. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $450.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $435.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $507.77.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.6 %

MSFT stock traded up $2.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $438.09. 8,342,713 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,321,524. Microsoft has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.28, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $384.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $411.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during 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 period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

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.