Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Given New $480.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at UBS Group from $510.00 to $480.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the software giant's stock. UBS Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 22.22% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson upgraded Microsoft from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $503.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $4.29 during trading on Monday, hitting $392.74. 4,412,675 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,186,821. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $391.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $414.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock worth $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,720,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,103,212 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $25,273,704,000 after purchasing an additional 5,370,546 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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