Citigroup Cuts Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target to $600.00

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its target price trimmed by Citigroup from $635.00 to $600.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the software giant’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $575.34.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $415.75 on Tuesday. Microsoft has a one year low of $356.28 and a one year high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $393.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $451.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The business’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 51.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major long?term investment: Microsoft committed A$25B (~$18B) to expand Azure and AI capacity in Australia through 2029, supporting future cloud/Azure revenue and global infrastructure scale. Microsoft to invest $18 billion in Australia
• Positive Sentiment: Product and security strengthening: Microsoft is integrating advanced models (including Anthropic’s Mythos) into its security development lifecycle — a move that can reduce risk and improve enterprise trust in its AI offerings. Microsoft to integrate Anthropic’s Mythos
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming catalyst: Microsoft reports fiscal Q3 earnings on April 29 — analysts and investors see the print as pivotal for clarity on AI monetization, Azure growth and near?term margins. Prediction: Microsoft’s April 29 Earnings…
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn leadership change: LinkedIn’s CEO transition (Daniel Shapero named) is operationally relevant but not a core driver of Microsoft’s AI/cloud thesis. LinkedIn names new CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Historic voluntary buyouts announced: Microsoft is offering voluntary retirement/buyout packages to up to ~7% of U.S. staff — the first program of this scale in its history. Investors view this as a signal of large reorganization and near?term restructuring costs tied to a major AI pivot. Microsoft Targets About 7% of Its U.S. Workers With Buyout Offer
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and cost concerns: Reports linking the buyout to massive AI spending (estimates in coverage range into the tens of billions to $100B+ scale) have spooked investors, prompting a sell?off amid uncertainty over timing of returns on that spending. Microsoft Falls 4% as $110 Billion AI Bet Forces Historic Employee Buyout
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/price?target pressure: Some shops trimmed targets or adopted cautious ratings as they weigh heavy near?term AI investment against growth — adding to downside risk into earnings. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowers PT

Microsoft Company Profile

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).