Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) PT Lowered to $475.00

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Citigroup from $480.00 to $475.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the software giant’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 15.74% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James lifted their target price on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $432.13.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded down $1.42 during trading on Thursday, reaching $410.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,512,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,650,094. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company’s fifty day moving average is $415.48 and its 200-day moving average is $384.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft has a 1 year low of $275.37 and a 1 year high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The company had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 82,267 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,976,000 after acquiring an additional 3,209 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% in the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 470,301 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,497,000 after purchasing an additional 5,366 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in Microsoft by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 17,471 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.