Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Microsoft has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 48 brokerages, with 43 buy ratings, four holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $570.62.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, both exceeding analyst expectations; revenue increased 17.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain optimistic about Azure and Copilot growth, though investors are watching whether heavy AI infrastructure spending will pressure free cash flow before returns fully materialize. Microsoft also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the forty-eight brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and forty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $570.62.

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $512.90 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $3.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $484.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $428.53. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. Research analysts predict that Microsoft will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $610 from $550 and maintained an Overweight rating, citing improving estimates for Microsoft’s commercial cloud business and potential revenue from the new E7 enterprise licensing tier. Why is Microsoft stock up on Wednesday?
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s revamped Copilot is becoming more enterprise-focused, while usage-based billing expected to begin in November could simplify adoption and improve monetization. Analysts also see potential for paid Copilot seats to continue expanding rapidly. What a Revamped Copilot Means for Microsoft Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is bringing OpenAI’s autonomous “Dots” agents into its enterprise security and governance framework, strengthening its position in workplace AI. A long-term Xbox publishing agreement with Take-Two also supports the gaming ecosystem. Microsoft Brings OpenAI’s Autonomous Dots AI Workers Into the Enterprise
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft has delivered a substantial quarterly rally, but its valuation remains below its recent average P/E despite strong Azure growth, expanding Copilot demand and a sizable commercial backlog. This leaves room for additional upside, although expectations are already elevated. How Much Upside Is Left In Microsoft Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that surging AI infrastructure spending could outpace free cash flow before Azure and Copilot returns fully materialize. Microsoft also warns that AI agents may weaken traditional software pricing power and customer loyalty. The AI Revolution Could Be Microsoft’s Next Trillion-Dollar Opportunity

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,338,370,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $18,306,443,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $6,928,664,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $5,653,812,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Microsoft

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.

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