Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Raised to $650.00

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its target price boosted by DA Davidson from $550.00 to $650.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. DA Davidson currently has a buy rating on the software giant’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MSFT. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $586.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. KeyCorp set a $625.00 price target on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target (up from $575.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $610.00 price objective on 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $609.54.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $521.91 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $512.91 and its 200 day moving average is $438.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Microsoft has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $551.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued 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 business 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 company earned $4.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Arrien Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 27.0% during the third quarter. Arrien Investments Inc. now owns 895 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Jacksonville Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 5.7% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Sageworth Trust Co lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, DeLarme Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.3% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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.