Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading 2.2% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded up 2.2% on Monday after CLSA upgraded the stock to a moderate buy rating. The stock traded as high as $403.18 and last traded at $402.29. Approximately 27,699,570 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 37,420,805 shares. The stock had previously closed at $393.82.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “market outperform” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial cut Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $525.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Mizuho cut their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Forty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $556.37.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Truist reaffirmed its Buy rating on Microsoft and set a $575 price target, while other recent analyst commentary from Morgan Stanley and Bernstein remained upbeat on the company’s AI and cloud growth potential. Analyst upgrade and price target coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its strategic partnership with Mistral AI, including support for European AI infrastructure, which could strengthen Azure demand and deepen its enterprise AI footprint. Reuters article on Mistral deal
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also committed $60 million to the DOE’s “Genesis Mission” AI-for-science push, reinforcing the company’s role in government and research AI workloads. GeekWire Genesis Mission article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary ahead of next week’s earnings said Microsoft remains a potential value play, with bulls pointing to Azure growth, AI monetization, and strong long-term cash generation. Zacks pre-earnings outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed Microsoft’s upcoming July 29 earnings report as a key test of Azure momentum, AI capex discipline, and Copilot adoption. Investors appear focused on whether the company can justify its large spending while sustaining growth. Proactive Investors earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued class action reminders and deadline alerts related to alleged securities fraud, citing claims tied to Microsoft’s AI/Copilot disclosures and earlier stock declines. These headlines can create overhang and increase investor uncertainty. Class action filing alert
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent analysis argued Microsoft has underperformed for years and questioned whether AI spending is generating enough immediate return, adding to the “dead money” narrative ahead of earnings. Seeking Alpha commentary

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 500.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.4%

The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.09, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day moving average is $399.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $409.57.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).