Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) had its target price upped by TD Cowen from $625.00 to $650.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the software giant’s stock.
MSFT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Microsoft from $586.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp set a $625.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. CLSA reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $609.54.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft
Microsoft Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $521.91 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $512.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $438.43. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. Microsoft has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $551.15.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.13 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 19.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 19.00%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total value of $3,984,293.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 555,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $302,924,086.32. The trade was a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Microsoft
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 7.2% in the third 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 during the period. Arrien Investments Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Jacksonville Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 5.7% during the third quarter. Jacksonville Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,280 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,708,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Sageworth Trust Co grew its stake in Microsoft by 11.5% during the third 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. grew its stake in Microsoft by 7.3% during the third quarter. DeLarme Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,111 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Microsoft News Roundup
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.
Microsoft Company Profile
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.
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