Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Now Covered by Analysts at Citizens Jmp

Equities researchers at Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a report issued on Monday. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $550.00 price target on the software giant’s stock. Citizens Jmp’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 22.16% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. They issued a “market outperform” rating for the company. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Forty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.64.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $450.24 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $402.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $434.12. The company has a market cap of $3.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is rolling out Copilot 365 to roughly 743,000 Accenture employees, highlighting one of the largest enterprise AI deployments so far and reinforcing demand for Microsoft’s AI tools. Microsoft is bringing out its Copilot 365 AI Assistant to Accenture plc (ACN) Employees
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to be viewed as a top AI beneficiary, with multiple reports pointing to strong demand for Copilot, cloud services, and enterprise AI adoption. Microsoft Rallies as Bold AI Push Reignites Investor Hopes
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s involvement in Nvidia’s upcoming AI PC rollout is also lifting sentiment, since the partnership could help expand Windows device sales and deepen AI features across laptops. Nvidia jumps into PCs with new Arm-based chip debuting in laptops from Microsoft, Dell, HP
• Neutral Sentiment: Several broader tech articles continue to mention Microsoft as one of the market’s leading AI names, which supports the stock’s premium valuation but does not by itself change the fundamental story. Three AI Powerhouses to Monitor: Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), and AMD Stock Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces on Microsoft’s valuation and ETF exposure reflect ongoing interest in the stock, but they are less likely to be direct near-term price drivers. Microsoft: This Price Makes No Sense

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).