Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Raised to $505.00

19 Oct 2024, 12:46 by Kim Johansen · The Markets Daily

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) had its price objective boosted by KeyCorp from $490.00 to $505.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the software giant’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MSFT. Oppenheimer lowered Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.68.

View Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $418.16 on Friday. Microsoft has a 52 week low of $324.39 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $419.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.74%.

Microsoft declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rebalance LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Doheny Asset Management CA increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 6,397 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,691,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.8% in the second quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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