Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Bank of America Analyst Says

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Bank of America from $515.00 to $585.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the software giant's stock. Bank of America's price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.34% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $541.79.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of MSFT traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $511.62. The stock had a trading volume of 3,265,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,541,376. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $515.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $476.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $427.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 386.7% in the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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