Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given New $540.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Citigroup from $480.00 to $540.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the software giant's stock. Citigroup's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 18.62% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson raised their price objective 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 lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $509.16.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $3.14 on Thursday, hitting $455.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,382,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,445,875. The company's 50-day moving average is $392.40 and its 200 day moving average is $412.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.65, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fosun International Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 704 shares of the software giant's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 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.

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