Wells Fargo & Company Raises Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target to $585.00

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $565.00 to $585.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the software giant's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would suggest a potential upside of 18.39% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MSFT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $516.39.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $4.03 on Wednesday, reaching $494.14. The stock had a trading volume of 1,804,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,479,100. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $494.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $441.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $420.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% 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 Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Newton One Investments LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 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.

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