Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Up 2% After Dividend Announcement

Posted by Geri Gentry on Sep 16th, 2026

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) shares traded up 2% during mid-day trading on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $509.95 and last traded at $505.41. 22,933,292 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 35,652,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $495.63.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Mizuho reduced their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Argus decreased their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $564.27.

Read Our Latest Analysis on MSFT

Microsoft Trading Down 1.6%

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $460.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $420.90. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23.

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

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Azure reaches a major milestone: Azure annual revenue surpassed $100 billion, while consumption from agentic AI helped drive approximately 43% year-over-year revenue growth in the latest quarter. The milestone supports the view that Microsoft is converting AI demand into cloud revenue. Azure agentic AI growth article
Positive Sentiment: Dividend increased: Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend 8% to $0.98 per share, payable December 10 to shareholders of record November 19. The increase signals confidence in cash generation and modestly improves shareholder returns. Microsoft dividend increase
Positive Sentiment: Analyst outlook remains favorable: Citizens JMP reaffirmed a Market Outperform rating with a $550 price target, citing Microsoft’s cloud and AI opportunity. Recent commentary also points to Copilot adoption and enterprise software strength as long-term catalysts.
Positive Sentiment: Improved Azure disclosure could support valuation: Microsoft plans to report Azure revenue directly in quarterly results, giving investors greater visibility into whether AI-related infrastructure spending is producing sufficient returns. Microsoft Azure reporting change
Neutral Sentiment: AI safety strategy: CEO Satya Nadella and Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman are advocating stronger safeguards and human control over advanced AI. The approach may reduce regulatory and reputational risks, but a slower development pace could raise competitiveness concerns.
Neutral Sentiment: Stock technically extended: MSFT recently cleared a $466.32 cup-base buy point and is trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Strong momentum is constructive, although the distance from the breakout level increases pullback risk.
Negative Sentiment: Executive selling adds an overhang: EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares for approximately $20.8 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The scheduled nature of the transaction reduces its signaling value, but it follows a broader pattern of insider sales without reported insider purchases.
Negative Sentiment: Spending and valuation remain concerns: Investors continue to scrutinize Microsoft’s substantial AI and data-center capital expenditures, while its valuation is higher than some major peers. Recent large-scale security patching also underscores ongoing cybersecurity execution risks.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company’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 owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the second quarter. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,272 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,593,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Partners in Financial Planning grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Partners in Financial Planning now owns 2,593 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,254,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. FWG Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. FWG Holdings LLC now owns 8,368 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,047,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% during the second quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Microsoft

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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.