Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $592.15 According to Analysts

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifty analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, forty-five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $609.54.

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 28th. CLSA reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Griffin Securities lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Microsoft

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Microsoft delivered a strong fiscal first quarter, with revenue of $92.28 billion and EPS of $4.89, both above expectations. Azure revenue surged 48%, while Microsoft Cloud revenue rose 30%, reinforcing the view that AI demand is translating into meaningful cloud growth. Microsoft Earnings Expose a Growing Divide in the Magnificent 7 AI Trade
  • Positive Sentiment: Management issued second-quarter revenue guidance of $96.0 billion to $97.1 billion, above the $95.7 billion consensus estimate. Analysts responded with multiple price-target increases, including targets of $630 to $680, and Wolfe Research upgraded the stock to “strong buy.”
  • Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s strong cash generation and diversified enterprise business continue to distinguish it from rivals facing sharper cash-flow concerns. Analysts argue that Azure, Copilot, AI agents and Microsoft’s security products provide several ways to monetize AI. The expanded Estée Lauder partnership, which will extend Copilot to more than 14,000 employees, offers another example of enterprise adoption. Estée Lauder and Microsoft Strategic Partnership
  • Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s voluntary exit offer for approximately 60,000 employees may improve productivity and redirect resources toward AI, but it also highlights a significant restructuring as the company shifts toward more automated, equipment-intensive operations. Microsoft’s 60,000-Person Buyout Offer
  • Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Microsoft’s capital intensity. The company plans roughly $170 billion of AI-related capital spending, while also arranging a $25 billion bond sale—the first major U.S. debt offering since 2017—to fund its buildout. Rising borrowing costs increase scrutiny of future AI returns. Microsoft Plans to Raise $25 Billion in Debt
  • Negative Sentiment: Quarterly capital spending was below analyst expectations because third-party AI-chip and data-center capacity was delayed, pushing some capacity into the first half of 2027. While management described this as a supply issue rather than weaker demand, the miss hurt AI infrastructure suppliers and revived concerns about the pace of expansion.
  • Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s cloud gross margin is reportedly narrowing as chip, power, data-center and labor costs rise. With the Nasdaq 100 down sharply during October amid fears of an AI spending bubble, investors are demanding proof that Microsoft’s large backlog will convert into profitable cash flow—not merely future revenue.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 14,480 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,427,000 after buying an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Arrien Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% during the third quarter. Arrien Investments Inc. now owns 895 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Jacksonville Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacksonville Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,280 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,708,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Sageworth Trust Co increased its stake in Microsoft by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sageworth Trust Co now owns 2,907 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,491,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, DeLarme Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. DeLarme Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,111 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $521.91 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.05. Microsoft has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $551.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $512.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $438.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 19.00%.

About Microsoft

(Get Free Report)

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company’s principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

See Also

Analyst Recommendations for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.