Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given New $500.00 Price Target at Sanford C. Bernstein

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at Sanford C. Bernstein from $501.00 to $500.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the software giant’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price indicates a potential upside of 17.72% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Mizuho upped their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Microsoft from $485.00 to $470.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.94.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $424.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $326.94 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $420.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.56.

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

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in Microsoft by 169.2% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG grew its position in Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.