Citi analyst Tyler Radke reiterated a Buy rating on Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) with a price target of $470.
His latest round of fieldwork (reseller survey, channel checks, and CIO survey) gave him incremental confidence heading into the fiscal second quarter, with resellers indicating high quota achievement levels on a broad-based strength (Azure commitments + Dynamics).
Radke expects a solid beat and raise and notes improving IT budgets, partially driven by generative AI where Microsoft is in a leadership position with multiple monetization vectors which can drive a durable multi-year reacceleration in top/bottom line growth.
As such, Microsoft remains the analyst's preferred mega-cap name in software.
Radke increased his projections, citing improved Azure growth, contributions from Copilot, favorable foreign exchange impacts, and a stronger PC market.
The analyst projected second-quarter revenue and EPS of $61.597 billion (versus consensus of $61.04 billion) and $2.80 (versus consensus of $2.75).
An investor can make a few decisions when deciding whether a stock is a good buy. In addition to valuation metrics and price action which you can find on Benzinga's quote pages - like Microsoft's page for example - there are factors like whether or not a company pays a dividend or buys a large portion of its stock each quarter.
These are known as capital allocation programs. Microsoft does pay a dividend, which yields 0.9% per year as of the closing price on Jan. 24, 2024. Feel free to search Benzinga's dividend calendar for the next company that is due to pay a dividend and determine what kind of yield you can earn for holding a share of the company.
Price Action: MSFT shares traded higher by 1.07% at $403.16 on the last check Wednesday.