Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Raised to $515.00

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price objective raised by BMO Capital Markets from $500.00 to $515.00 in a research report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the software giant’s stock.

MSFT has been the topic of several other reports. Dbs Bank lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $558.64.

Microsoft Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of MSFT opened at $464.72 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $397.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $405.96. Microsoft has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Frankly Finances LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue increased 43% year over year, and annual Azure sales surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Management also guided to approximately 45% Azure growth in the next quarter, reinforcing confidence in Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise AI demand. Microsoft Shares Jump After Strong Outlook and Solid AI-Driven Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings beat was substantial. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.74, above analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24, respectively. Net income reportedly rose 31%, while revenue increased about 18% year over year. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates as Cloud and AI Drive Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and financial discipline eased investor concerns. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, its commercial remaining performance obligation reached $678 billion—up 84% year over year—and management held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady while emphasizing continued cash generation. Investors viewed this as a better balance between infrastructure investment and returns than some peers have demonstrated. Microsoft Eases AI Spending Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely reaffirmed bullish views, with several price-target increases, although estimates remain wide. Microsoft’s stock is now trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages after a historic rally, raising the possibility of increased volatility or profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft continues to face risks from data-center power constraints, chip costs, regulatory scrutiny and the enormous scale of AI investment. A reported cloud-security flaw that could have exposed customers adds another operational concern. Cyber Firm Wiz Reports Microsoft Cloud Flaw
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class-action lawsuit concerning investors who purchased Microsoft shares between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Such announcements may create reputational and legal overhang, although they have not offset the earnings-driven optimism. Microsoft Securities Class Action Deadline

About Microsoft

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).