Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Raised to $600.00

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by analysts at Wedbush from $515.00 to $600.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the software giant's stock. Wedbush's price objective points to a potential upside of 20.98% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price objective on Microsoft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $521.14.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded down $1.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $495.94. 34,519,707 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,657,156. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $449.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $422.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.33, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. Microsoft has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $499.30.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at 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.