Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Up 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

Posted by George Bondi on Sep 17th, 2026

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report)’s share price rose 1.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $501.47 and last traded at $497.75. 17,640,631 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 35,307,195 shares. The stock had previously closed at $490.30.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Azure expands into payment security: Microsoft is turning cloud-managed security for payment infrastructure into a service, potentially opening a sizable enterprise market and creating another source of Azure consumption. Pricing and customer commitments have not been disclosed. Microsoft Jumps as Azure Turns Payment Vaults Into a Service
Positive Sentiment: Telecom AI partnership expands: Nokia and Microsoft are extending their collaboration around Microsoft Fabric, unified data and agentic network automation. The offering targets fault detection, predictive maintenance and autonomous telecom operations, supporting demand for Microsoft’s cloud and AI tools. Nokia accelerates network automation through agentic data foundation with Microsoft
Positive Sentiment: Copilot gains specialized functionality: Causaly’s scientific research platform is now available within Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft 365 and Teams, strengthening Copilot’s appeal to life-sciences research organizations. Causaly is Now Available in Microsoft Copilot
Positive Sentiment: AI ecosystem investment: Microsoft’s venture arm participated in a more than $20 million funding round for ManticAI, an AI startup focused on predicting global events. The investment offers potential strategic exposure to another AI application area, though its direct financial impact is likely limited. Microsoft fund backs British AI predictions start-up Mantic
Neutral Sentiment: AI usage is shifting toward agents: Mintlify reports that AI agents have become the primary readers of company documentation and are increasingly writing it. The trend supports Microsoft’s agentic-AI strategy, but the report is third-party industry evidence rather than new Microsoft financial guidance. Mintlify’s 2026 State of Knowledge Report
Negative Sentiment: Spending and valuation remain risks: Microsoft’s substantial data-center and AI investment must continue translating into Azure revenue and profits. Commentary also questions whether the stock’s valuation already reflects much of the AI opportunity. What Happens To Microsoft Stock If Its AI Spending Keeps Climbing?
Negative Sentiment: Insider sale adds a modest overhang: EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares worth roughly $20.8 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The scheduled nature of the transaction reduces its significance as an outlook signal. Microsoft EVP insider sale

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. Phillip Securities cut shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group set a $525.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $564.27.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT

Microsoft Trading Up 1.6%

The firm has a market cap of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $462.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $421.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% during the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 8,773 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $199,014,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after acquiring an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 138.8% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $502,077,000 after acquiring an additional 788,297 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.