Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Cut to “Neutral” at Griffin Securities

Griffin Securities downgraded shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports.

MSFT has been the subject of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 12th. KeyCorp set a $625.00 price target on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Yorkville Ives assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $615.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $512.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $438.43. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $551.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.13 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 19.79 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is presently 19.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Montgomery Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about 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.

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.