Truist Financial Reaffirms Buy Rating for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Truist Financial in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $600.00 price target on the software giant’s stock, up from their previous price target of $575.00. Truist Financial‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 13.20% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MSFT. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wolfe Research cut Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Yorkville Ives started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $615.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Phillip Securities cut shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Forty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $594.11.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $5.51 on Monday, hitting $530.02. 3,043,129 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 33,471,395. Microsoft has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $508.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $446.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.54, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 19.66 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 315,653,206 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $117,744,959,000 after buying an additional 8,944,917 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.9% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,375,360 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $24,013,297,000 after purchasing an additional 543,172 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $18,306,443,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Microsoft by 12.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 46,694,778 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,418,076,000 after purchasing an additional 5,019,702 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its Microsoft price target to $625 from $570 and maintained an Outperform rating, citing strong demand ahead of earnings. The broader analyst consensus target is approximately $592.15. Oppenheimer raises Microsoft target ahead of earnings amid demand strength
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors argue Microsoft is better positioned than many peers to absorb its AI infrastructure spending because of its diversified revenue base, recurring software business, growing dividend, and potentially positive free cash flow. Its Azure business is estimated at roughly $100 billion in annualized revenue and is expected to grow rapidly. Microsoft may be the only hyperscaler to stay cash-flow positive
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft reportedly received $184.2 million in net ETF buying on October 22, indicating continued institutional demand ahead of the results. Microsoft sees net ETF buying
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders anticipate a potentially large post-earnings move that could take MSFT back toward its recent record, underscoring elevated event risk rather than signaling a specific direction. Traders anticipate Microsoft earnings move
• Negative Sentiment: The main concern is valuation and spending: Microsoft’s large AI and data-center buildout could pressure free cash flow if Azure growth or monetization disappoints. Some analysts expect lower earnings, while bearish commentary questions whether slowing earnings growth can support a premium valuation. Microsoft’s AI spending and Azure growth
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s record backlog, although supportive of future demand, also reflects substantial commitments to AI infrastructure and carries execution and capital-allocation risks compared with more diversified cloud models. Microsoft versus Oracle backlog risks

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company’s principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.