Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Microsoft has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, based on coverage from 47 analysts: 41 buy ratings and 6 hold ratings. The average 1-year price target is about $561.20.
• Recent analyst updates were mixed, with several firms trimming price targets while still maintaining generally bullish views on the stock. Examples include Wedbush reaffirming an outperform rating and DA Davidson, New Street Research, and Mizuho lowering targets but keeping buy/outperform ratings.
• Operationally, Microsoft beat fiscal-quarter expectations, posting $4.27 EPS on $82.89 billion in revenue, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share. The article also notes recent insider share sales and some legal/headline risk tied to Copilot-related class-action claims.

Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the forty-seven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and forty-one 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 $561.2045.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. New Street Research cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and Chevron announced a 20-year agreement to build Project Kilby, a 2.67-gigawatt natural-gas-powered facility in West Texas to support Microsoft’s AI and cloud data centers, reinforcing long-term demand for Microsoft’s AI infrastructure. Reuters article on Chevron signs power supply deal with Microsoft for Texas data center
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella called for broader AI access, lower-cost models, and more emphasis on trust and choice, which supports the case that Microsoft is positioning itself to compete beyond the expensive frontier-model race. Yahoo Finance article on Microsoft CEO Calls for Broader AI Access
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft was cited as part of a broader Big Tech pullback tied to AI sector rotation and regulatory overhang, suggesting the stock is being dragged by the group rather than by company-specific operating news. Yahoo Finance article on US Equity Indexes Mixed Amid Steep Decline in Communication Services
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple investor-rights firms announced or promoted a securities class action against Microsoft related to alleged Copilot-related disclosures, adding headline risk but not yet changing the underlying business outlook. GlobeNewswire article on MSFT Alert
• Negative Sentiment: New class-action headlines around Microsoft’s Copilot issues and alleged investor harm may weigh on sentiment by increasing legal uncertainty and keeping attention on prior stock declines. PR Newswire article on MSFT Stockholder Alert

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 3.2%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $367.34 on Tuesday. Microsoft has a one year low of $356.28 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50-day moving average is $412.26 and its 200-day moving average is $424.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

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).

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