Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Raised to $710.00

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price objective hoisted by Arete from $700.00 to $710.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. Arete currently has a buy rating on the software giant’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $617.63.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $517.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.93, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $512.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $466.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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 bought and sold shares of the company. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 930 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 133,767 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $69,285,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. Dominguez Wealth Management Solutions Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dominguez Wealth Management Solutions Inc. now owns 2,301 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,963 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morangie Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morangie Management LLC now owns 7,763 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,021,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.