Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given New $500.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

by · The Cerbat Gem

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) had its price objective decreased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $515.00 to $500.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the software giant’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MSFT. Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating and set a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Truist Financial reiterated a buy rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $493.47.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $416.68. 2,357,304 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,329,398. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $417.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $424.68. Microsoft has a one year low of $324.39 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Rebalance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the second quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Doheny Asset Management CA increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 6,397 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Microsoft

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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.

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