Citigroup Cuts Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target to $570.00

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its target price trimmed by Citigroup from $620.00 to $570.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the software giant’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. New Street Research reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. China Renaissance lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Argus dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $557.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $393.82 on Wednesday. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $400.28 and its 200-day moving average is $411.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Advocate Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 23,926 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,925,000 after acquiring an additional 2,205 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 36,871 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $13,754,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 177,461 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $66,197,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 2,236,664 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $834,320,000 after purchasing an additional 63,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,740,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is still getting support from Wall Street, with some analysts and portfolio managers reiterating buy ratings and arguing that Azure demand, Copilot adoption, and Microsoft 365 tailwinds can support long-term earnings power. Article: Josh Baer Reiterates Buy on Microsoft, Citing AI Leadership, Azure/M365 Budget Tailwinds and Underappreciated Earnings Power
• Positive Sentiment: A CIO survey and other commentary pointed to strong Azure demand at multi-year highs, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s cloud and AI platform remains a core beneficiary of enterprise spending. Article: Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Surges on Strong Azure Demand in Latest CIO Survey
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a multi-year AI infrastructure partnership with 3M, which investors viewed as another sign that its Azure ecosystem is expanding into real-world enterprise use cases. Article: Microsoft Stock Rebounds on 3M Optical Infrastructure Alliance
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella criticized Anthropic’s Fable restrictions and pushed for Microsoft to promote its own AI models more aggressively, highlighting the company’s effort to reduce reliance on outside AI vendors. Article: Microsoft’s Nadella rips Anthropic’s Fable restrictions in staff meeting: ‘Doesn’t make sense’
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is training its sales force to push in-house AI models over OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic suggest a strategic shift toward better control over costs and monetization, but the market is still waiting for proof that this approach boosts returns. Article: Microsoft is reportedly training salespeople to talk down OpenAI and Anthropic
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports said analysts trimmed price targets ahead of earnings, and commentary stressed that investors are increasingly worried Microsoft’s AI spending spree could pressure margins before the payoff becomes visible. Article: Why Microsoft Is Playing a Different AI Game Than Big Tech—and Cash Flow Is the Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing added overhang from securities class-action deadlines and allegations tied to Copilot and Azure disclosures, which can keep pressure on sentiment even though these developments are not operational. Article: MSFT UPCOMING DEADLINE : The Gross Law Firm Alerts Microsoft Corporation Stockholders of Securities Class Action

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).