Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) PT Raised to $505.00 at KeyCorp

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price objective boosted by analysts at KeyCorp from $490.00 to $505.00 in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the software giant’s stock. KeyCorp’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 20.77% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Argus raised their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.68.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $418.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft has a fifty-two week low of $324.39 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $419.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $424.51. The company has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. New Harbor Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 55.9% in the second quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 1,307,487 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $550,086,000 after acquiring an additional 5,253 shares during the last quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 296.7% during the 1st quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after buying an additional 2,264 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its holdings in Microsoft by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 81,502 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,427,000 after buying an additional 12,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spinnaker Investment Group LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 12,521 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,268,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.