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

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) 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 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 commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.16.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 94,243 shares of company stock worth $41,288,738 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its stake 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 during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $395.33 and its 200-day moving average is $412.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.58, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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