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

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) had its target price increased by Mizuho from $500.00 to $540.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the software giant's stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America cut their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Securities increased their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $538.04.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $0.20 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $505.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,142,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,629,187. The firm has a market cap of $3.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $473.43 and a 200-day moving average of $426.73. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $508.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was 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. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% during the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 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. 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 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.