Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Receives $384.45 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirty-four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $388.06.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $390.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $347.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, October 26th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. High Pines Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,256 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Sonen Capital LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sonen Capital LLC now owns 10,132 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Sightline Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sightline Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,337 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Partners boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stevens Capital Partners now owns 1,516 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perritt Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc. now owns 937 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $377.44 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $336.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $332.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $2.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.54, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.88. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $219.35 and a 12 month high of $378.87.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.52 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.31% and a return on equity of 38.79%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 11.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 29.04%.

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.