Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given New $585.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $565.00 to $585.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the software giant's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $521.14.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $1.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $495.94. The stock had a trading volume of 34,519,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,657,156. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $449.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $422.12. 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 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $499.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.33, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Newton One Investments LLC raised 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is 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.