Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifty ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat 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 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $609.54.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective (up from $610.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $586.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp set a $625.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 5,306 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,722,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Basso Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Microsoft by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Basso Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,032 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,555,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,706 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,952,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 4.3% during the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 137,832 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,694,000 after acquiring an additional 5,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 76,928 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,456,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.6%

Microsoft stock opened at $521.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $551.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $512.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $438.43.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 19.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. 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%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 20.46%.

Key Microsoft News

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.

About Microsoft

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.