Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given New $650.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Key Points

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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Piper Sandler from $600.00 to $650.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the software giant's stock.

MSFT has been the topic of several other research reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 price target (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 target price (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.86.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of MSFT traded down $10.53 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $522.97. 10,477,597 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,307,518. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $488.46 and a 200-day moving average of $434.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.49% and a net margin of 36.15%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,743 shares of company stock worth $27,520,933 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in Microsoft by 27.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,375,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently 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.