Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Up 1.4% – Time to Buy?

Posted by Brian Himes on Jul 16th, 2026

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report)’s stock price was up 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $405.99 and last traded at $401.10. 36,467,996 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 37,522,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $395.63.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced a strategic partnership with 3M to advance AI data-center infrastructure and enterprise transformation, giving investors another sign that MSFT’s Azure ecosystem remains a key partner for large corporate customers. 3M and Microsoft announce strategic partnership to advance AI data center infrastructure and enterprise transformation
Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remained constructive on Microsoft despite trimming price targets, citing AI leadership, Azure and Microsoft 365 budget tailwinds, and what they see as underappreciated earnings power. Josh Baer Reiterates Buy on Microsoft, Citing AI Leadership, Azure/M365 Budget Tailwinds and Underappreciated Earnings Power
Positive Sentiment: Investors are also looking ahead to July 29 earnings, with preview coverage focusing on Copilot adoption and AI monetization as potential catalysts if Microsoft can show strong growth with manageable margin pressure. Microsoft Earnings Preview: Copilot, AI Spending and Margins Are in Focus
Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly training its sales force to promote in-house AI offerings over rivals such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, underscoring a more aggressive competitive stance in AI sales. Microsoft Wants Sales Team to Push Its Own AI Models Instead of Rivals OpenAI, Google and Anthropic: Report
Negative Sentiment: Offsetting the bullish AI story, Microsoft continues to face investor concern over rising AI spending, margin pressure, and price-target cuts from some Wall Street firms ahead of earnings. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Gets Price Target Cuts Ahead of Earnings – Here’s Why
Negative Sentiment: Legal headlines are also a drag, with multiple class-action notices alleging Microsoft misled investors about Copilot and AI adoption, which could keep sentiment cautious. MSFT Shareholder Alert: August 11, 2026 Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Microsoft Corporation Securities Class Action
Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s restructuring of its Xbox business remains a concern, with reports describing layoffs and a major reset in gaming strategy after a costly bet on the division. Why Microsoft’s $80 Billion Xbox Bet Backfired

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. HSBC dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $525.00 price target (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $557.96.

Read Our Latest Research Report on MSFT

Microsoft Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $401.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $412.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 21.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter worth $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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).