Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Raised to $475.00 at Piper Sandler

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Piper Sandler from $435.00 to $475.00 in a report published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the software giant's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $430.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Microsoft from $530.00 to $472.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $507.77.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT traded up $9.88 during trading on Thursday, reaching $435.28. The stock had a trading volume of 30,732,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,356,359. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $384.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $411.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.