Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Up 0.6% on Analyst Upgrade

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $480.00 to $540.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Microsoft traded as high as $454.25 and last traded at $454.73. Approximately 4,047,348 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 21,444,715 shares. The stock had previously closed at $452.11.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $509.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. 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 firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 94,243 shares of company stock worth $41,288,738 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3%

The firm has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.58, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $395.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $412.61.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

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.