Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 1.9% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Microsoft shares rose 1.9% to $517.93, significantly above its previous close of $508.45, with trading volume increasing by 135% from average levels.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Microsoft, with Loop Capital targeting $600 and Scotiabank setting a new target of $650, reflecting overall positive sentiment with an average target of $612.54.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, increasing from $0.83, with a payment date set for December 11th.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $519.30 and last traded at $517.93. Approximately 52,156,994 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 135% from the average daily volume of 22,222,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $508.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.54.

Microsoft Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.04. The company's 50 day moving average is $511.71 and its 200-day moving average is $457.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.34%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total transaction of $75,315,699.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.4% in the first quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Real Talk Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% during the first quarter. Real Talk Capital LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the software giant's stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 39.3% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 144,852 shares of the software giant's stock worth $54,376,000 after acquiring an additional 40,860 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 147.9% during the fourth quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 1,748 shares of the software giant's stock worth $737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.