Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $495.00 to $520.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Microsoft traded as high as $452.75 and last traded at $450.33, with a volume of 3578785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $449.78.

MSFT has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, March 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Financial Security Advisor Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 27,270 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,255,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,359,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 8,213 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 48,500 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,238,000 after purchasing an additional 18,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,484 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $419.96 and a 200-day moving average of $407.44. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.94, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

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.