Stifel Nicolaus Raises Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target to $515.00

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $475.00 to $515.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the software giant’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target points to a potential upside of 17.84% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.46.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $437.03 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $426.62 and its 200 day moving average is $428.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft has a 1 year low of $366.50 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,819 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,225,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.5% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 44,895 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $19,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,153,000. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.5% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 23,905 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,286,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.6% during the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,488 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,809,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.