Brokerages Set Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) PT at $559.16

Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and forty-two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $560.2667.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $495.40 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $411.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $408.06. Microsoft has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Microsoft will post 19.59 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to highlight Microsoft’s Azure expansion, accelerating Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption, and the company’s ability to sustain double-digit earnings growth. Microsoft’s latest quarter also exceeded expectations, with revenue of approximately $90 billion and earnings growth supported by Azure. Microsoft’s Cloud Gains Can Sustain Double-Digit Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Microsoft price target to $625, citing stronger Copilot demand and accelerating infrastructure investment. Other analysts remain bullish, with a six-month median target near $540, reinforcing investor confidence in Microsoft’s long-term AI positioning. JPMorgan Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is combining its consumer and enterprise Copilot applications into a unified platform, potentially improving distribution, user engagement, and monetization as it competes with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Microsoft Unifies Copilot Applications
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft approved the first AI data-center deployment under its $9.7 billion agreement with IREN, supporting Azure capacity expansion. The deal improves supply visibility but also underscores Microsoft’s substantial capital requirements. IREN Delivers First AI Cloud Deployment
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s roughly $175 billion AI infrastructure spending plan could pressure free cash flow and cloud margins. A reported decline in cloud gross margin and higher data-center, chip, electricity, and labor costs raise questions about how much of the company’s large AI backlog will translate into profit. Microsoft’s AI Backlog and Profitability Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft has closed at least 15 China offices and joint ventures add geopolitical and operational uncertainty, although Azure reportedly provides a profitable reason to retain a limited China presence. Microsoft Retreats in China

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).