Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wedbush Analyst Says

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Wedbush from $515.00 to $600.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the software giant’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective points to a potential upside of 20.62% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on MSFT. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $521.14.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $497.45 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $446.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $421.75. The company has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $498.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total value of $460,010.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,647,150.58. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.