Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-eight analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and forty-one have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $578.73.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Argus reduced their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Phillip Securities lowered Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Melius Research upgraded Microsoft to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $665. The firm said rising corporate concerns about AI risks could increase demand for Microsoft’s security, governance and compliance products, while positioning Azure as a relatively dependable way to participate in the AI trend. Microsoft stock rises as Melius upgrades to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Broad market strength also supported MSFT. The Nasdaq reached a record as megacap technology stocks rallied on optimism about earnings growth, with Microsoft among the sector leaders. Expectations for strong technology-sector profits continue to support investor appetite for the shares. Nasdaq hits record as megacap gains offset elevated Treasury yields
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues expanding Copilot’s enterprise usefulness. Wood Mackenzie connected its proprietary energy data and analytics to Microsoft Copilot through a new Model Context Protocol connector, providing another example of specialized business content being integrated into Microsoft’s AI ecosystem. Wood Mackenzie connects energy intelligence with Microsoft Copilot
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming Xbox and Xbox Game Pass releases provided a smaller consumer-business catalyst. New game launches may support engagement and subscription activity, although the impact is likely less significant than Azure and AI developments. Microsoft stock rises ahead of new Xbox game releases
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft and Meta reportedly encouraged employees to reduce their use of Anthropic’s Claude in favor of internal AI tools. The move could lower Microsoft’s external AI expenses and strengthen Copilot adoption, but it also indicates ongoing competition and uncertainty over which AI models will deliver the best economics. Microsoft and Meta steer staff from Anthropic Claude to in-house AI
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon hired longtime Microsoft AI executive Pedram Rezaei, formerly associated with Copilot. The departure could raise concerns about retaining senior AI talent as cloud and software rivals intensify their competition. Amazon hires a Microsoft AI leader
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on execution risks. Microsoft’s large backlog offers revenue visibility, but the timing of recognition, infrastructure spending and cash conversion could limit near-term benefits. Questions also remain about whether Copilot can become a breakout AI application. How much revenue visibility does Microsoft’s backlog provide?

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Montgomery Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $37,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $525.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $492.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $431.07. Microsoft has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft’s productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.