Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) PT Raised to $485.00 at Evercore ISI

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price target lifted by Evercore ISI from $475.00 to $485.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the software giant’s stock.

MSFT has been the subject of a number of other reports. BNP Paribas raised shares of Microsoft from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and set a $471.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a buy rating and set a $455.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Macquarie increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $452.61.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $402.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $303.40 and a 1-year high of $430.82. The company has a market cap of $2.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $414.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $389.01.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft will post 11.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

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.