Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 2.3% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Microsoft shares rose 2.3% on Monday, trading as high as $466.32 before closing at $460.52, with volume running well above average at about 52.3 million shares.
• Investor sentiment was boosted by AI-related developments, including Nvidia’s new AI PC chip built with Microsoft and commentary highlighting Microsoft’s growing opportunities in Azure, Copilot, and “AI sovereignty.”
• Microsoft also has near-term catalysts ahead, with its Build 2026 conference starting June 2 and analysts still broadly constructive, carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and target price around $561.20.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 2.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $466.32 and last traded at $460.52. Approximately 52,345,554 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 46% from the average daily volume of 35,874,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $450.24.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nvidia unveiled its RTX Spark / N1X AI PC chip, developed with Microsoft, boosting sentiment around Microsoft’s role in the emerging AI-powered Windows PC market and lifting related tech stocks. Nvidia jumps into PCs with new Arm-based chip debuting in laptops from Microsoft, Dell, HP
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary are highlighting Microsoft’s expanding AI opportunity, with coverage pointing to strong momentum in Azure, Copilot, and “AI sovereignty” themes that could support long-term growth. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Extends Rally as Analysts Back ‘Compelling Vision of AI Sovereignty’
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft Build 2026 starts on June 2, giving investors a near-term catalyst for potential AI, cloud, and developer-platform announcements. Dear Microsoft Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for June 2
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft internally shared employee survey results showing sentiment changes after raising performance pressure and overhauling HR, which is more of a governance/workplace update than a direct business driver. Internal Microsoft employee surveys reveal how sentiment is changing inside the software giant
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary is flagging valuation and capex concerns, noting that Microsoft’s strong AI demand is being offset by heavy spending and margin pressure, which could limit upside if growth disappoints. MSFT Jumps 13% in 3 Months on AI Demand: Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Evercore reduced their price target on Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. New Street Research reduced their price target on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Forty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $561.20.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.41, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $402.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $434.12.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock worth $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,060,557,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant's stock worth $88,056,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911,142 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant's stock worth $58,624,690,000 after purchasing an additional 980,439 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,664,631,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

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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