Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given New $515.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $500.00 to $515.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the software giant’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MSFT. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James increased their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $507.77.

Microsoft Trading Up 7.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $425.40 on Thursday. Microsoft has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $384.18 and a 200-day moving average of $411.01.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.