Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Raised to $512.00 at Cantor Fitzgerald

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Cantor Fitzgerald from $502.00 to $512.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the software giant's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's target price would suggest a potential upside of 17.39% from the stock's previous close. Cantor Fitzgerald also issued estimates for Microsoft's FY2025 earnings at $13.36 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 price objective (down from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $507.77.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $0.89 during trading on Thursday, hitting $436.17. 20,111,670 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,521,264. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's fifty day moving average is $384.93 and its 200 day moving average is $411.03.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Quarterback LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 5.4% in the first quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 9,400 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,529,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 42,436 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,930,000 after buying an additional 2,064 shares during the last quarter. Bingham Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% in the first quarter. Bingham Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,730 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,028,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 55,848 shares of the software giant's stock worth $20,965,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2.5% in the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 54,169 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $20,335,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.