Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Patron Partners LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,011 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $4,853,000. Microsoft makes up about 1.9% of Patron Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,270,000. OneAscent Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,622,000. Presper Financial Architects LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $635,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $12,372,000. Finally, Paralel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $41,032,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. CLSA reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Microsoft from an “overweight” rating to a “negative” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $581.80.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft Insider Transactions at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were 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 $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 strengthens Microsoft’s AI strategy. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Maia 300 custom AI processor, which it says can deliver approximately 40% more AI-generated tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU-based systems. The company plans multi-gigawatt deployments beginning in 2027, potentially lowering inference costs, improving Azure margins and reducing reliance on Nvidia and AMD. Microsoft Reveals Next-Gen Maia 300 Custom AI Chip For Widespread Deployment Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure demand remains exceptionally strong. Microsoft reportedly signed more than $130 billion in data-center leases during the quarter, signaling aggressive capacity expansion to meet demand for Azure and AI services. Management has also indicated that demand continues to exceed available capacity, while its commercial backlog has reached a record level. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is supportive ahead of earnings. Barclays raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $512 and expects greater differentiation in software results. Microsoft is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter 2027 results on October 28, with consensus estimates of approximately $4.72 in earnings per share and $90.4 billion in revenue. Microsoft price target raised to $600 from $512 at Barclays Positive Sentiment: New AI products broaden Microsoft’s growth opportunities. The Decision-1 model is described as faster and cheaper to operate than competing systems, while new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop devices add AI features, 5G connectivity and improved battery efficiency. Neutral Sentiment: Investors are weighing AI growth against spending. The Maia rollout could improve long-term economics, but Microsoft is committing substantial capital to data centers and chips. Analysts are monitoring whether shrinking free cash flow and high infrastructure costs offset Azure and Copilot growth. Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and execution risks remain. Microsoft is conducting another round of layoffs in Israel, its research chief Peter Lee is leaving for Mercedes’ Formula 1 team, and Norway fined subsidiary Xandr €8.6 million over Grindr data sharing. Nadella and President Brad Smith are also calling for stronger AI safeguards, highlighting potential compliance costs and liability risks. Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of MSFT stock opened at $543.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $503.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $437.50. The stock has a market cap of $4.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 20.27%.

Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

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.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Microsoft A Chinese Rival Just Spooked Memory Stocks—How Worried Should Micron Investors Be? Could T-Mobile’s Satellite Competition Fears Create a Buying Opportunity? Surgical Precision, Sustainable Returns: Johnson & Johnson Secures Its Cash Flow Runway Tesla’s Robotaxi Lands in Paris—But Europe’s Real Fight Is Over Cheap EVs Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,094 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,900,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.8% of OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Frankly Finances LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $101,000. Finally, Glynn Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 34.2% in the second quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance MSFT stock opened at $543.45 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $503.23 and a 200-day moving average of $437.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Argus dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $581.80.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT

Microsoft News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 strengthens Microsoft’s AI strategy. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Maia 300 custom AI processor, which it says can deliver approximately 40% more AI-generated tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU-based systems. The company plans multi-gigawatt deployments beginning in 2027, potentially lowering inference costs, improving Azure margins and reducing reliance on Nvidia and AMD. Microsoft Reveals Next-Gen Maia 300 Custom AI Chip For Widespread Deployment Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure demand remains exceptionally strong. Microsoft reportedly signed more than $130 billion in data-center leases during the quarter, signaling aggressive capacity expansion to meet demand for Azure and AI services. Management has also indicated that demand continues to exceed available capacity, while its commercial backlog has reached a record level. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is supportive ahead of earnings. Barclays raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $512 and expects greater differentiation in software results. Microsoft is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter 2027 results on October 28, with consensus estimates of approximately $4.72 in earnings per share and $90.4 billion in revenue. Microsoft price target raised to $600 from $512 at Barclays Positive Sentiment: New AI products broaden Microsoft’s growth opportunities. The Decision-1 model is described as faster and cheaper to operate than competing systems, while new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop devices add AI features, 5G connectivity and improved battery efficiency. Neutral Sentiment: Investors are weighing AI growth against spending. The Maia rollout could improve long-term economics, but Microsoft is committing substantial capital to data centers and chips. Analysts are monitoring whether shrinking free cash flow and high infrastructure costs offset Azure and Copilot growth. Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and execution risks remain. Microsoft is conducting another round of layoffs in Israel, its research chief Peter Lee is leaving for Mercedes’ Formula 1 team, and Norway fined subsidiary Xandr €8.6 million over Grindr data sharing. Nadella and President Brad Smith are also calling for stronger AI safeguards, highlighting potential compliance costs and liability risks. About Microsoft (Free Report)

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.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Microsoft A Chinese Rival Just Spooked Memory Stocks—How Worried Should Micron Investors Be? Could T-Mobile’s Satellite Competition Fears Create a Buying Opportunity? Surgical Precision, Sustainable Returns: Johnson & Johnson Secures Its Cash Flow Runway Tesla’s Robotaxi Lands in Paris—But Europe’s Real Fight Is Over Cheap EVs

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

by Todd Bishop on

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella gives the company’s founding mission an AI update at Build in June, a preview of the “Windows Hybrid Intelligence” initiative that the company unveiled last week. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)
In less than four months, Microsoft has added roughly half an Amazon to its market value.

The tech giant’s stock has gained about $1.4 trillion in value since early summer, rising from $352.83 on June 25, its lowest close in more than a year, to a record close of $543.45 on Tuesday, giving it a market value just above $4 trillion. The increase over that period is nearly as much as Tesla is worth.

As stock turnarounds go, it’s extraordinary. In January, Microsoft lost $357 billion in a single day, the biggest one-day drop in its history, as investors worried about the company’s AI spending and its reliance on OpenAI. By midsummer, Microsoft was the worst performer this year among the big tech stocks known as the “Magnificent Seven,” according to Morningstar.

The rebound accelerated in late July, when Microsoft reported that Azure, its cloud platform, grew 43% and topped $100 billion in annual revenue. The stock jumped 15.5% the next day. It has mostly kept climbing since, as Microsoft rolled out a revamped Copilot app, a new AI push for Windows and new AI chips.

Microsoft isn’t rising alone. The broader stock market has also been hitting record highs, led by AI stocks. The S&P 500 closed above 7,800 for the first time last week, even as the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield reached its highest level since 2002.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been making a broader pitch along the way. In an essay posted on X in July, he warned that companies relying on outside AI labs “pay for intelligence twice, once with money, and again with something even more valuable,” meaning their own knowledge.

He urged businesses to keep control of that knowledge and avoid tying themselves to any one AI model. Microsoft sells access to models from OpenAI, Anthropic and others, along with its own.

Last weekend, he took up a related theme, calling on X for an “emergency brake” on advanced AI models. That means “separating the model from the harness that orchestrates its work,” he wrote. “We must assume a model is compromised and contain it from the start.”

The message also fits Microsoft’s business interests. As companies use AI models from multiple providers, the advantage could shift to companies like Microsoft that run the cloud and workplace software where businesses keep their data.

Microsoft reports its next quarterly results Oct. 28.

Microsoft just announced a chip that could quietly drain billions from Nvidia's most reliable revenue stream, and the full consequences for both companies will not arrive until 2027.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) closed at $541.15, up 1.14%. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) closed at $226.32, down 1.29%. The stocks moved apart after Microsoft revealed Azure Maia 300, its newest in-house AI chip, and said Maia will become the main engine for running its own AI products.

Investors treated the news as a small transfer of value from one company to the other. The money involved is in inference, which is the work of running a trained AI model to answer a user. Training is the work of building the model in the first place, so inference is the bill that repeats forever, while training is the bill you pay to get started.

Microsoft is building its own hardware for the repeating, high-volume bill and will keep leasing Nvidia silicon for training. If you own Microsoft, the question is who keeps the savings as Copilot and Office turn AI into everyday work.

Microsoft Committed to a 2027 Start Date for Maia
Scott Guthrie, Microsoft’s executive vice president for cloud and AI, wrote: “We will scale our Azure Maia family to multi-gigawatt deployments starting in 2027,” making Maia “the primary inference system for Microsoft products and services.” Satya Nadella posted on X on October 12, 2026: “Today we are announcing our biggest bet yet on our own silicon.”

Large-scale deployment begins in 2027. Reports put possible deployment at more than a million chips next year, but Microsoft has not confirmed that figure.

Rani Borkar, who runs Azure’s hardware systems, described the goal as “basically delivering more intelligence for every watt, every dollar, and every byte of memory.”

Microsoft says Maia 300 produces 40% more tokens per megawatt than leading GPU systems. Its 96-chip rack draws about 167 kilowatts, compared with 142 kilowatts for a 72-GPU Nvidia GB300 rack. So each Maia rack uses more power, while Microsoft claims it does more work for each unit of that power.

Microsoft Profits From Maia Without Selling a Single Chip
Maia is reserved for Microsoft’s internal use and pays off only by bringing down what it costs Microsoft to serve the Copilot and OpenAI models it already sells, which makes the return smaller than a chip-selling business would offer but much more certain.

Microsoft expects capital spending of more than $175 billion this calendar year. At that size, even a small cut in the cost per token means meaningful savings.

The program is building on itself, too. Nadella said Maia 200 delivers 30% better performance per dollar than the latest hardware already in Microsoft’s fleet.

Near-term exposure to Nvidia remains small.

Nvidia carries a market value of $5.46 trillion, compared with Microsoft’s $4.02 trillion. Evercore ISI estimates that Maia will account for about 10% of Microsoft’s AI chip spending by early 2027.

The bigger risk to Nvidia plays out over years, because inference becomes the larger workload over time and every major cloud company is building chips for it. Nvidia still has training demand that keeps growing, and Microsoft plans to be among the first clouds to roll out Nvidia’s Vera Rubin systems.

Nobody Outside Microsoft Has Tested These Claims
Every Maia figure comes from Microsoft. Analyst Patrick Moorhead pointed out that “nobody has tested them outside of Microsoft yet.”

Maia’s own plan has slipped before, and an earlier generation’s delay raised questions about later targets. A Microsoft general manager also said the company keeps “a little bit of optionality” because the industry changes fast.

The announcement left out training, leasing Maia to customers, and retiring any existing Nvidia capacity. The chips also depend on an outside foundry’s 2-nanometer process, which is in heavy demand.

What Maia Means for Microsoft Shareholders
Maia cuts the cost of products Microsoft already sells in huge volume, and that kind of margin gain would accrue to long-term holders, although the 2027 timeline means the savings are still ahead.

The stock trades at a trailing P/E of 30. Among the companies affected by this announcement, Microsoft has the clearest upside.

The next checkpoint is Microsoft’s earnings call on October 28. If management reports Maia deployment progress or better cloud gross margins, the case holds up. If it says nothing on either, the 2027 promise deserves more doubt.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 10,854 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $4,049,000. Microsoft comprises 2.1% of Hara Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 37.4% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $60,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 34.2% in the second quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $101,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. William Blair started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.84.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft
Microsoft Trading Up 1.1%
NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $541.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $502.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $436.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 20.27%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 AI chip is the key catalyst. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Maia 300 processor and plans to begin production deployments in 2027, eventually scaling the platform to multiple gigawatts and potentially as many as one million chips. The company says Maia 300 can deliver approximately 40% more AI-generated tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU-based systems, which could lower Azure costs and improve margins. Microsoft reveals Maia 300 AI chip
Positive Sentiment: Greater control over AI supply and economics. Microsoft intends to make Maia a primary architecture for AI inference while continuing to use chips from Nvidia, AMD and Intel. Investors viewed the strategy as a way to reduce dependence on expensive, supply-constrained Nvidia hardware and strengthen Azure’s competitive position. Microsoft to rely more on homegrown AI chips
Positive Sentiment: Underlying growth remains strong. Recent coverage points to Azure growth guidance of 44%–45%, rising Copilot adoption, a record backlog and more than $50 billion in quarterly capital spending to meet AI demand. These trends reinforce the bullish long-term case, although the October 28 earnings report will test whether growth remains above investor expectations.
Neutral Sentiment: AI safety and infrastructure constraints remain in focus. CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith called for stronger safeguards, emergency controls and clearer AI regulation. Separately, industry leaders highlighted electricity and cooling capacity as potential limits on AI expansion. These issues may increase compliance and infrastructure costs but could also benefit Microsoft’s enterprise-focused approach.
Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks increased. The U.S. suspended Microsoft from the PERM green-card program amid scrutiny of its H-1B hiring practices, potentially complicating access to technical talent. Norway also fined Microsoft subsidiary Xandr approximately €8.6 million for sharing Grindr user data. Microsoft PERM suspension
Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks persist. Some analysts downgraded Microsoft amid concerns about elevated AI capital spending, high expectations and the need for Azure growth to remain above 40%. The departure of longtime science president Peter Lee is an additional, though relatively minor, leadership concern.

Insider Activity at Microsoft
In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile
(Free Report)

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.

Featured Stories

Five stocks we like better than Microsoft
Salesforce Just Got a Rare Double Upgrade—What Changed?
OpenAI’s Revenue Scare Could Be a Big Opportunity for Investors
China Still Dominates Rare Earths—These 3 U.S. Companies Could Benefit
3 REITs That May Win in a Higher Interest Rate Environment

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 375,993 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $140,253,000. Microsoft makes up 1.6% of Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $60,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $101,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Microsoft from $522.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, CLSA reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.84.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was 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 owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% 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. Insiders sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Microsoft News
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 AI chip is the key catalyst. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Maia 300 processor and plans to begin production deployments in 2027, eventually scaling the platform to multiple gigawatts and potentially as many as one million chips. The company says Maia 300 can deliver approximately 40% more AI-generated tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU-based systems, which could lower Azure costs and improve margins. Microsoft reveals Maia 300 AI chip
Positive Sentiment: Greater control over AI supply and economics. Microsoft intends to make Maia a primary architecture for AI inference while continuing to use chips from Nvidia, AMD and Intel. Investors viewed the strategy as a way to reduce dependence on expensive, supply-constrained Nvidia hardware and strengthen Azure’s competitive position. Microsoft to rely more on homegrown AI chips
Positive Sentiment: Underlying growth remains strong. Recent coverage points to Azure growth guidance of 44%–45%, rising Copilot adoption, a record backlog and more than $50 billion in quarterly capital spending to meet AI demand. These trends reinforce the bullish long-term case, although the October 28 earnings report will test whether growth remains above investor expectations.
Neutral Sentiment: AI safety and infrastructure constraints remain in focus. CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith called for stronger safeguards, emergency controls and clearer AI regulation. Separately, industry leaders highlighted electricity and cooling capacity as potential limits on AI expansion. These issues may increase compliance and infrastructure costs but could also benefit Microsoft’s enterprise-focused approach.
Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks increased. The U.S. suspended Microsoft from the PERM green-card program amid scrutiny of its H-1B hiring practices, potentially complicating access to technical talent. Norway also fined Microsoft subsidiary Xandr approximately €8.6 million for sharing Grindr user data. Microsoft PERM suspension
Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks persist. Some analysts downgraded Microsoft amid concerns about elevated AI capital spending, high expectations and the need for Azure growth to remain above 40%. The departure of longtime science president Peter Lee is an additional, though relatively minor, leadership concern.

Microsoft Stock Performance
Microsoft stock opened at $541.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $502.22 and its 200 day moving average is $436.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Microsoft Company Profile
(Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles

Five stocks we like better than Microsoft
Salesforce Just Got a Rare Double Upgrade—What Changed?
OpenAI’s Revenue Scare Could Be a Big Opportunity for Investors
China Still Dominates Rare Earths—These 3 U.S. Companies Could Benefit
3 REITs That May Win in a Higher Interest Rate Environment

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

SGL Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 24,859 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $12,580,000. Microsoft comprises about 4.4% of SGL Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 234.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,822,280 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,619,211,000 after buying an additional 12,493,786 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in Microsoft by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after buying an additional 9,814,598 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after buying an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 38,442.1% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,810,388 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,521,001,000 after buying an additional 6,792,718 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance
NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $541.15 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $502.22 and its 200 day moving average is $436.28. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change 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%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 AI chip is the key catalyst. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Maia 300 processor and plans to begin production deployments in 2027, eventually scaling the platform to multiple gigawatts and potentially as many as one million chips. The company says Maia 300 can deliver approximately 40% more AI-generated tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU-based systems, which could lower Azure costs and improve margins. Microsoft reveals Maia 300 AI chip
Positive Sentiment: Greater control over AI supply and economics. Microsoft intends to make Maia a primary architecture for AI inference while continuing to use chips from Nvidia, AMD and Intel. Investors viewed the strategy as a way to reduce dependence on expensive, supply-constrained Nvidia hardware and strengthen Azure’s competitive position. Microsoft to rely more on homegrown AI chips
Positive Sentiment: Underlying growth remains strong. Recent coverage points to Azure growth guidance of 44%–45%, rising Copilot adoption, a record backlog and more than $50 billion in quarterly capital spending to meet AI demand. These trends reinforce the bullish long-term case, although the October 28 earnings report will test whether growth remains above investor expectations.
Neutral Sentiment: AI safety and infrastructure constraints remain in focus. CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith called for stronger safeguards, emergency controls and clearer AI regulation. Separately, industry leaders highlighted electricity and cooling capacity as potential limits on AI expansion. These issues may increase compliance and infrastructure costs but could also benefit Microsoft’s enterprise-focused approach.
Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks increased. The U.S. suspended Microsoft from the PERM green-card program amid scrutiny of its H-1B hiring practices, potentially complicating access to technical talent. Norway also fined Microsoft subsidiary Xandr approximately €8.6 million for sharing Grindr user data. Microsoft PERM suspension
Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks persist. Some analysts downgraded Microsoft amid concerns about elevated AI capital spending, high expectations and the need for Azure growth to remain above 40%. The departure of longtime science president Peter Lee is an additional, though relatively minor, leadership concern.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Barclays dropped their target price on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.84.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft
(Free Report)

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.

Featured Stories

Five stocks we like better than Microsoft
Salesforce Just Got a Rare Double Upgrade—What Changed?
OpenAI’s Revenue Scare Could Be a Big Opportunity for Investors
China Still Dominates Rare Earths—These 3 U.S. Companies Could Benefit
3 REITs That May Win in a Higher Interest Rate Environment

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 7,338 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $2,737,000. Microsoft accounts for 1.5% of Live Oak Investment Partners’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after acquiring an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,852,884,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784,809 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,982,083,000 after acquiring an additional 9,493,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,715,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,412 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance Microsoft stock opened at $541.15 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $502.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $436.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 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 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore upgraded shares of Microsoft from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Microsoft from an “overweight” rating to a “negative” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.84.

Read Our Latest Report on MSFT

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 AI chip is the key catalyst. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Maia 300 processor and plans to begin production deployments in 2027, eventually scaling the platform to multiple gigawatts and potentially as many as one million chips. The company says Maia 300 can deliver approximately 40% more AI-generated tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU-based systems, which could lower Azure costs and improve margins. Microsoft reveals Maia 300 AI chip Positive Sentiment: Greater control over AI supply and economics. Microsoft intends to make Maia a primary architecture for AI inference while continuing to use chips from Nvidia, AMD and Intel. Investors viewed the strategy as a way to reduce dependence on expensive, supply-constrained Nvidia hardware and strengthen Azure’s competitive position. Microsoft to rely more on homegrown AI chips Positive Sentiment: Underlying growth remains strong. Recent coverage points to Azure growth guidance of 44%–45%, rising Copilot adoption, a record backlog and more than $50 billion in quarterly capital spending to meet AI demand. These trends reinforce the bullish long-term case, although the October 28 earnings report will test whether growth remains above investor expectations. Neutral Sentiment: AI safety and infrastructure constraints remain in focus. CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith called for stronger safeguards, emergency controls and clearer AI regulation. Separately, industry leaders highlighted electricity and cooling capacity as potential limits on AI expansion. These issues may increase compliance and infrastructure costs but could also benefit Microsoft’s enterprise-focused approach. Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks increased. The U.S. suspended Microsoft from the PERM green-card program amid scrutiny of its H-1B hiring practices, potentially complicating access to technical talent. Norway also fined Microsoft subsidiary Xandr approximately €8.6 million for sharing Grindr user data. Microsoft PERM suspension Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks persist. Some analysts downgraded Microsoft amid concerns about elevated AI capital spending, high expectations and the need for Azure growth to remain above 40%. The departure of longtime science president Peter Lee is an additional, though relatively minor, leadership concern. Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

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.

Recommended Stories Five stocks we like better than Microsoft Salesforce Just Got a Rare Double Upgrade—What Changed? OpenAI’s Revenue Scare Could Be a Big Opportunity for Investors China Still Dominates Rare Earths—These 3 U.S. Companies Could Benefit 3 REITs That May Win in a Higher Interest Rate Environment

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Latash Investments LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,610 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,000. Microsoft comprises 1.3% of Latash Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 8,773 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $199,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after buying an additional 537,634 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 138.8% during the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $502,077,000 after buying an additional 788,297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Microsoft from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup raised Microsoft from a “market outperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.84.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was 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 $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 can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1%
NASDAQ MSFT opened at $541.15 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $502.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $436.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend
The business 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 $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 AI chip is the key catalyst. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Maia 300 processor and plans to begin production deployments in 2027, eventually scaling the platform to multiple gigawatts and potentially as many as one million chips. The company says Maia 300 can deliver approximately 40% more AI-generated tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU-based systems, which could lower Azure costs and improve margins. Microsoft reveals Maia 300 AI chip
Positive Sentiment: Greater control over AI supply and economics. Microsoft intends to make Maia a primary architecture for AI inference while continuing to use chips from Nvidia, AMD and Intel. Investors viewed the strategy as a way to reduce dependence on expensive, supply-constrained Nvidia hardware and strengthen Azure’s competitive position. Microsoft to rely more on homegrown AI chips
Positive Sentiment: Underlying growth remains strong. Recent coverage points to Azure growth guidance of 44%–45%, rising Copilot adoption, a record backlog and more than $50 billion in quarterly capital spending to meet AI demand. These trends reinforce the bullish long-term case, although the October 28 earnings report will test whether growth remains above investor expectations.
Neutral Sentiment: AI safety and infrastructure constraints remain in focus. CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith called for stronger safeguards, emergency controls and clearer AI regulation. Separately, industry leaders highlighted electricity and cooling capacity as potential limits on AI expansion. These issues may increase compliance and infrastructure costs but could also benefit Microsoft’s enterprise-focused approach.
Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks increased. The U.S. suspended Microsoft from the PERM green-card program amid scrutiny of its H-1B hiring practices, potentially complicating access to technical talent. Norway also fined Microsoft subsidiary Xandr approximately €8.6 million for sharing Grindr user data. Microsoft PERM suspension
Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks persist. Some analysts downgraded Microsoft amid concerns about elevated AI capital spending, high expectations and the need for Azure growth to remain above 40%. The departure of longtime science president Peter Lee is an additional, though relatively minor, leadership concern.

About Microsoft
(Free Report)

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.

Recommended Stories

Five stocks we like better than Microsoft
Salesforce Just Got a Rare Double Upgrade—What Changed?
OpenAI’s Revenue Scare Could Be a Big Opportunity for Investors
China Still Dominates Rare Earths—These 3 U.S. Companies Could Benefit
3 REITs That May Win in a Higher Interest Rate Environment

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

NWK Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 29,240 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $10,907,000. Microsoft comprises 3.4% of NWK Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $101,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 AI chip is the key catalyst. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Maia 300 processor and plans to begin production deployments in 2027, eventually scaling the platform to multiple gigawatts and potentially as many as one million chips. The company says Maia 300 can deliver approximately 40% more AI-generated tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU-based systems, which could lower Azure costs and improve margins. Microsoft reveals Maia 300 AI chip Positive Sentiment: Greater control over AI supply and economics. Microsoft intends to make Maia a primary architecture for AI inference while continuing to use chips from Nvidia, AMD and Intel. Investors viewed the strategy as a way to reduce dependence on expensive, supply-constrained Nvidia hardware and strengthen Azure’s competitive position. Microsoft to rely more on homegrown AI chips Positive Sentiment: Underlying growth remains strong. Recent coverage points to Azure growth guidance of 44%–45%, rising Copilot adoption, a record backlog and more than $50 billion in quarterly capital spending to meet AI demand. These trends reinforce the bullish long-term case, although the October 28 earnings report will test whether growth remains above investor expectations. Neutral Sentiment: AI safety and infrastructure constraints remain in focus. CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith called for stronger safeguards, emergency controls and clearer AI regulation. Separately, industry leaders highlighted electricity and cooling capacity as potential limits on AI expansion. These issues may increase compliance and infrastructure costs but could also benefit Microsoft’s enterprise-focused approach. Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks increased. The U.S. suspended Microsoft from the PERM green-card program amid scrutiny of its H-1B hiring practices, potentially complicating access to technical talent. Norway also fined Microsoft subsidiary Xandr approximately €8.6 million for sharing Grindr user data. Microsoft PERM suspension Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks persist. Some analysts downgraded Microsoft amid concerns about elevated AI capital spending, high expectations and the need for Azure growth to remain above 40%. The departure of longtime science president Peter Lee is an additional, though relatively minor, leadership concern. Insider Transactions at Microsoft In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock. Microsoft Trading Up 1.1% MSFT stock opened at $541.15 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $4.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $502.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $436.28. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.84.

Read Our Latest Report on MSFT

Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft Salesforce Just Got a Rare Double Upgrade—What Changed? OpenAI’s Revenue Scare Could Be a Big Opportunity for Investors China Still Dominates Rare Earths—These 3 U.S. Companies Could Benefit 3 REITs That May Win in a Higher Interest Rate Environment Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Ninepoint Partners LP acquired a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,256 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,588,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 34.2% during the 2nd quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $101,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.1% NASDAQ MSFT opened at $541.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $502.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $436.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Microsoft Increases Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Key Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 AI chip is the key catalyst. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Maia 300 processor and plans to begin production deployments in 2027, eventually scaling the platform to multiple gigawatts and potentially as many as one million chips. The company says Maia 300 can deliver approximately 40% more AI-generated tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU-based systems, which could lower Azure costs and improve margins. Microsoft reveals Maia 300 AI chip Positive Sentiment: Greater control over AI supply and economics. Microsoft intends to make Maia a primary architecture for AI inference while continuing to use chips from Nvidia, AMD and Intel. Investors viewed the strategy as a way to reduce dependence on expensive, supply-constrained Nvidia hardware and strengthen Azure’s competitive position. Microsoft to rely more on homegrown AI chips Positive Sentiment: Underlying growth remains strong. Recent coverage points to Azure growth guidance of 44%–45%, rising Copilot adoption, a record backlog and more than $50 billion in quarterly capital spending to meet AI demand. These trends reinforce the bullish long-term case, although the October 28 earnings report will test whether growth remains above investor expectations. Neutral Sentiment: AI safety and infrastructure constraints remain in focus. CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith called for stronger safeguards, emergency controls and clearer AI regulation. Separately, industry leaders highlighted electricity and cooling capacity as potential limits on AI expansion. These issues may increase compliance and infrastructure costs but could also benefit Microsoft’s enterprise-focused approach. Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks increased. The U.S. suspended Microsoft from the PERM green-card program amid scrutiny of its H-1B hiring practices, potentially complicating access to technical talent. Norway also fined Microsoft subsidiary Xandr approximately €8.6 million for sharing Grindr user data. Microsoft PERM suspension Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks persist. Some analysts downgraded Microsoft amid concerns about elevated AI capital spending, high expectations and the need for Azure growth to remain above 40%. The departure of longtime science president Peter Lee is an additional, though relatively minor, leadership concern. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Evercore raised shares of Microsoft from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.84.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft Salesforce Just Got a Rare Double Upgrade—What Changed? OpenAI’s Revenue Scare Could Be a Big Opportunity for Investors China Still Dominates Rare Earths—These 3 U.S. Companies Could Benefit 3 REITs That May Win in a Higher Interest Rate Environment

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Zacks Thematic Screens lets you dive into over 30 dynamic investment themes shaping the future. Whether you're interested in cutting-edge technology, renewable energy, or healthcare innovations, our themes help you invest in ideas that matter to you.

Let’s take a closer look at the ‘Cloud Computing’ theme and analyze a stock within, namely Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) .

Cloud Computing Overview

Cloud computing refers to the on-demand seamless access of computing resources such as servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence over the Internet (the cloud) on a pay-per-use pricing model.

It marks a paradigm shift from traditional on-premises infrastructure storage to remote cloud-based storage facilities and relies heavily on virtualization and automation technologies. Instead of buying, owning, and maintaining physical data centers and servers, organizations access a virtual pool of shared resources from a cloud service provider on an as-needed basis.

This lowers operating costs, increases productivity with greater agility and flexibility, and improves scalability with higher economies of scale.

Microsoft Reassures Cloud Concerns

Microsoft posted strong results in its latest release, with sales up 18% YoY and earnings up 23% YoY. It delivered strong Cloud results, a key benchmark that has been watched closely amid the billions it’s been investing in AI infrastructure.

Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud results include Azure, its cloud computing platform that provides AI computing power to businesses. Intelligent Cloud revenue came in at $39.3 billion, beating our consensus estimate handily and growing at an accelerated rate of 32% YoY.

Bottom Line

Thematic investing has emerged as a powerful way for investors to sync their portfolios with emerging trends. A mix of long-term and short-term themes is increasingly dictating which companies lead as economies expand and markets shift.

While stocks in each theme aren't direct recommendations, they offer a solid starting point. Leverage the Zacks Rank and other metrics to identify the best stocks for your strategy. Each featured stock comes with a Zacks report, giving you the tools to analyze performance and potential.

The Cloud Computing thematic list, which currently includes Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) , focuses on technology companies that provide the related hardware and software to enable cloud computing services, the communication service providers that offer the network facilities and the various firms that utilize the services across diverse sectors like financial, consumer discretionary and industrials.

Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,477 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $2,576,000. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.7% of Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 234.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,822,280 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,619,211,000 after buying an additional 12,493,786 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after acquiring an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after acquiring an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 38,442.1% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,810,388 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,521,001,000 after acquiring an additional 6,792,718 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $535.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $501.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $435.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The company has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year. Microsoft Increases Dividend The company 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 a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

Microsoft News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Insider Activity In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. UBS Group cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Evercore upgraded shares of Microsoft from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Citigroup raised shares of Microsoft from a “market outperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $578.73.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT

About Microsoft (Free Report)

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.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Stocks Chopped in Half: Why These Drops May Be Structural, Not a Dip Home Depot and Lowe’s Hit 52-Week Lows—But Analysts Aren’t Giving Up Utilities Are Bouncing Back—These 2 Giants Could Signal the Next Big Sector Rally Q3 Earnings Could Blow Past Consensus—Be Ready for What Comes Next

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 60,399 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $22,530,000. Microsoft accounts for 3.7% of Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. one8zero8 LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $15,283,000. Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $14,710,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $1,399,000. DeLarme Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $734,000. Finally, Mmbg Investment Advisors CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $75,701,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Analyst Ratings Changes Several analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 20th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.73. Get Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft

Microsoft Price Performance Shares of MSFT opened at $535.07 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $501.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $435.10. The company has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Insider Activity In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value 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 represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Microsoft (Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Stocks Chopped in Half: Why These Drops May Be Structural, Not a Dip Home Depot and Lowe’s Hit 52-Week Lows—But Analysts Aren’t Giving Up Utilities Are Bouncing Back—These 2 Giants Could Signal the Next Big Sector Rally Q3 Earnings Could Blow Past Consensus—Be Ready for What Comes Next

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Portland Financial Advisors Inc bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,485 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $554,000. Microsoft accounts for about 1.0% of Portland Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Finally, Glynn Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets Several analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Evercore raised Microsoft from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Get Our Latest Research Report on MSFT Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $535.07 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $501.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $435.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Insider Activity at Microsoft In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Stocks Chopped in Half: Why These Drops May Be Structural, Not a Dip Home Depot and Lowe’s Hit 52-Week Lows—But Analysts Aren’t Giving Up Utilities Are Bouncing Back—These 2 Giants Could Signal the Next Big Sector Rally Q3 Earnings Could Blow Past Consensus—Be Ready for What Comes Next Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Northcape Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,981 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $6,707,000. Microsoft accounts for about 1.8% of Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $239,551,000. Geneva Partners LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $2,551,000. Portland Financial Advisors Inc bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $554,000. Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $2,576,000. Finally, United Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $8,836,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $535.07 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $501.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $435.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Microsoft Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $530.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered Microsoft from an “overweight” rating to a “negative” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $578.73.

Get Our Latest Report on Microsoft

About Microsoft (Free Report)

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.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Stocks Chopped in Half: Why These Drops May Be Structural, Not a Dip Home Depot and Lowe’s Hit 52-Week Lows—But Analysts Aren’t Giving Up Utilities Are Bouncing Back—These 2 Giants Could Signal the Next Big Sector Rally Q3 Earnings Could Blow Past Consensus—Be Ready for What Comes Next Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Microsoft (MSFT +2.38%) remains one of the biggest players in cloud computing and artificial intelligence, but even great companies can see their shares pull back. With the stock down 4% from its 52-week high, this pullback could be an opportunity for investors to buy more shares or initiate a new position.

Azure is becoming a huge beneficiary of the AI boom With AI reshaping the tech industry, Microsoft has several advantages that the market may be underestimating. When investors think of ways to trade the AI boom, they usually focus on chipmakers and model providers. But some of the best opportunities may lie with hyperscalers, the companies that provide the cloud platforms that power AI. Microsoft is firmly in that camp.

Image source: Getty Images.

Microsoft's Azure cloud platform gives businesses access to compute power, storage, and services needed to develop and run AI applications. In fact, demand has been so strong that it has exceeded the capacity Microsoft can currently provide. Even as Microsoft works to improve efficiency and bring more data center capacity online, that new capacity is being monetized right away.

Premium Feature

Moneyball Superscore

92/100

Today's Change

(

2.38

%) $

12.46

Current Price

$

535.07

So, it's not surprising that this surging demand is driving massive business growth. In its latest results, Microsoft reported that its Cloud revenue continued to grow rapidly, supported by Azure and its AI applications and services.

That makes Azure one of the strongest parts of Microsoft's bull case.

Looking ahead, as companies move beyond experimenting with AI and begin deploying it across their operations, they'll need a reliable cloud platform to develop and run it on. And Microsoft is well-positioned to provide it.

But the opportunity doesn't stop there. Microsoft is already bringing AI directly into the everyday software millions of people use.

Copilot gives Microsoft a way to monetize AI at work Microsoft's other advantage is its ability to bring AI capabilities directly into the workplace. Millions of businesses already use Microsoft 365 for email, documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. So, Microsoft doesn't need to convince those customers to overhaul their whole technology stack just to accommodate AI.

Instead, it can simply add AI features to those familiar products and integrate them into workflows employees already use. That's the appeal of Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Rather than asking workers to switch between separate AI tools, Copilot can help them draft documents, summarize meetings, and work with data inside Microsoft's existing ecosystem.

The platform is already seeing some encouraging traction. The company reported that Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats by the end of fiscal 2026. Management also highlighted improving user engagement, with Copilot conversations per user nearly doubling year over year in the fourth quarter.

But beyond Copilot, Microsoft's productivity and business applications provide another layer of demand.

Microsoft's software business gives it a huge edge Microsoft already has a massive business selling software and cloud services to organizations around the world. Microsoft 365 remains central to everyday business operations, while Dynamics 365 provides applications for functions such as customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning, which help companies track customer relationships and manage daily operations. LinkedIn adds another business to its portfolio, expanding beyond professional networking and into recruiting.

These products give Microsoft multiple ways to generate revenue from its huge customer base. They also create opportunities to cross-sell additional services, making it easier to introduce new offerings to customers already in the ecosystem.

The company's latest results show the breadth of its business, with growth across Microsoft 365, commercial cloud services, LinkedIn, and Dynamics 365.

That combination of recurring software demand and emerging AI opportunities gives Microsoft the best of both worlds, raising a bigger question for investors.

Is Microsoft still a buy after its pullback? Microsoft's 4% pullback could be an opportunity to buy into a business with several ways to profit from AI.

Azure is benefiting from growing demand for AI cloud services, Copilot is bringing AI into everyday workflows, and Microsoft's established software business provides stability.

For investors willing to look past short-term price swings, the stock's pullback could be a great opportunity to scoop up more shares and invest further in Microsoft's long-term bull case.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 994,052 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $370,802,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.8% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position 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 period. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 234.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,822,280 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,619,211,000 after purchasing an additional 12,493,786 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Microsoft by 30.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after buying an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Microsoft by 64.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after buying an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 38,442.1% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,810,388 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,521,001,000 after buying an additional 6,792,718 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week: Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. CLSA reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Microsoft

Microsoft Price Performance Microsoft stock opened at $535.07 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $501.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $434.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

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.

Recommended Stories Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Unique ETFs With Strong Momentum for the End of the Year 3 Beaten-Down Biotech Stocks With Triple-Digit Upside and Big Catalysts Ahead Schneider Just Paid Up for PTC—Is the SaaSpocalypse Overdone? Delta Air Lines Faces a Fuel Crisis—But There’s a Silver Lining Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 30,298 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $11,302,000. Microsoft accounts for 5.7% of Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Frankly Finances LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 37.4% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $60,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 34.2% in the second quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $101,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week: Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Melius Research set a $665.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $578.73.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MSFT

Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $535.07 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average price of $501.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $434.73. The company has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

About Microsoft (Free Report)

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.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Unique ETFs With Strong Momentum for the End of the Year 3 Beaten-Down Biotech Stocks With Triple-Digit Upside and Big Catalysts Ahead Schneider Just Paid Up for PTC—Is the SaaSpocalypse Overdone? Delta Air Lines Faces a Fuel Crisis—But There’s a Silver Lining Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report)’s share price was up 2.4% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $537.22 and last traded at $535.07. 17,817,935 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 34,348,801 shares. The stock had previously closed at $522.61.

More Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. UBS Group lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Evercore raised Microsoft from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $501.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $434.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Insider Activity In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Montgomery Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company Profile (Get Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Unique ETFs With Strong Momentum for the End of the Year 3 Beaten-Down Biotech Stocks With Triple-Digit Upside and Big Catalysts Ahead Schneider Just Paid Up for PTC—Is the SaaSpocalypse Overdone? Delta Air Lines Faces a Fuel Crisis—But There’s a Silver Lining Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Altiora Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,040 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $2,626,000. Microsoft comprises about 0.4% of Altiora Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in 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 buying an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,426,862,000 after purchasing an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,852,884,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784,809 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Microsoft by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after purchasing an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,715,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,412 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.4% NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $535.07 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $501.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $434.73. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 20.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial lowered Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $578.73.

View Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Unique ETFs With Strong Momentum for the End of the Year 3 Beaten-Down Biotech Stocks With Triple-Digit Upside and Big Catalysts Ahead Schneider Just Paid Up for PTC—Is the SaaSpocalypse Overdone? Delta Air Lines Faces a Fuel Crisis—But There’s a Silver Lining

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,458 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $4,647,000. Microsoft makes up about 0.2% of BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% in 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 buying an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in Microsoft by 30.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,426,862,000 after acquiring an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Microsoft by 10.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,852,884,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784,809 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 64.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after acquiring an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,715,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,412 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, August 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. UBS Group downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Microsoft from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $578.73. Read Our Latest Analysis on MSFT

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Microsoft Stock Up 2.4% MSFT stock opened at $535.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $501.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $434.73. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. 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 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

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.

Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Unique ETFs With Strong Momentum for the End of the Year 3 Beaten-Down Biotech Stocks With Triple-Digit Upside and Big Catalysts Ahead Schneider Just Paid Up for PTC—Is the SaaSpocalypse Overdone? Delta Air Lines Faces a Fuel Crisis—But There’s a Silver Lining

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Balanced Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,855 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $692,000. Microsoft comprises 0.2% of Balanced Wealth Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 234.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,822,280 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,619,211,000 after purchasing an additional 12,493,786 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Microsoft by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,426,862,000 after purchasing an additional 9,814,598 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,982,083,000 after buying an additional 9,493,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 38,442.1% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,810,388 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,521,001,000 after buying an additional 6,792,718 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business’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 owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance Shares of MSFT opened at $535.07 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $501.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $434.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a boost 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%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $530.00 to $575.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.73.

View Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft

Microsoft News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

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.

Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Unique ETFs With Strong Momentum for the End of the Year 3 Beaten-Down Biotech Stocks With Triple-Digit Upside and Big Catalysts Ahead Schneider Just Paid Up for PTC—Is the SaaSpocalypse Overdone? Delta Air Lines Faces a Fuel Crisis—But There’s a Silver Lining

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 30,780 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $11,482,000. Microsoft comprises about 7.1% of Chancellor Financial Group WB LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $370,802,000. Balanced Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $692,000. Avaii Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $925,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $4,922,000. Finally, Vista Cima Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $4,226,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week: Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Microsoft Stock Up 2.4% Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $535.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $501.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $434.73. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Melius Research set a $665.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $578.73.

Get Our Latest Research Report on MSFT

Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

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.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Unique ETFs With Strong Momentum for the End of the Year 3 Beaten-Down Biotech Stocks With Triple-Digit Upside and Big Catalysts Ahead Schneider Just Paid Up for PTC—Is the SaaSpocalypse Overdone? Delta Air Lines Faces a Fuel Crisis—But There’s a Silver Lining

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Few can dispute the success that Satya Nadella has had as CEO of Microsoft (MSFT +2.38%). Since he took the top job at the company in February 2014, its stock price has increased by about 1,360%. Factor in the value of reinvested dividends during that time, and Microsoft's total return was about 1,670%.

Nonetheless, thanks to the massive capital expenditures required to stay competitive in the AI and cloud computing realms, its near-term outlook seems more unpredictable. Should investors expect lower returns in the years to come, or could that heavy spending maintain or accelerate this cloud stock's gains?

Image source: The Motley Fool.

One need only look at the trend in its capex figures to become concerned about this issue. In Microsoft's fiscal 2026 (which ended June 30), its capex was $116 billion, well above the $65 billion in the prior fiscal year or the $44 billion in fiscal 2024.

This rapidly climbing spending is not unique to Microsoft, which has the second-largest share of the global cloud infrastructure market. Its largest cloud competitor, Amazon, is on track to spend $220 billion in capex in 2026, while Alphabet, owner of third-place player Google Cloud, plans to spend approximately $200 billion.

However, in Microsoft's case, the improvements may be marginal. In fiscal 2026, revenue increased by 17%. That was only slightly above its 15% gain in fiscal 2025.

Moreover, Microsoft Cloud increased revenue by 27% year over year in fiscal 2026, a level unchanged from the prior year. And despite those gains, Microsoft's share price performance is on track to lag the S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.59%) for a third straight year.

Premium Feature

Moneyball Superscore

93/100

Today's Change

(

2.38

%) $

12.46

Current Price

$

535.07

Microsoft's revenue growth also compares unfavorably with its peers, at least so far this fiscal year. In the first half of 2026, Amazon Web Services' revenue grew by 31% year over year, compared with 17% growth in the first two quarters of 2025. During the same periods, Google Cloud experienced a 73% revenue gain, far above its 30% increase in the prior-year period.

To be fair, Microsoft has not published Azure's revenue growth in the past, something it plans to do in the future. Nonetheless, we know that it has surpassed $100 billion for the first time on an annual basis, and in fiscal Q4, it increased by 43%. That indicates its investment may have gained more traction than the Microsoft Cloud numbers imply.

In terms of P/E ratios, Microsoft is the highest, though Amazon's and Alphabet's earnings multiples were skewed lower by one-time benefits relating to their gains on investments in other companies. Microsoft's forward P/E is the lowest at 27, but given the fact that its peers trade at only a slight premium, that may not be enough to lead investors to choose Microsoft stock.

CompanyP/E Ratio (TTM)P/E Ratio (Forward)Microsoft3027Amazon2131Alphabet1829 Data source: YCharts. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Microsoft's AI spending Given the effects of AI spending, investors should probably expect continued increases, though not at the same pace. Indeed, its growth rates remain brisk, and early indications suggest Microsoft has seen some increases.

However, Microsoft has underperformed the S&P 500 in recent years. Additionally, given the numbers revealed to the public, one has to assume Amazon and Alphabet have gained more traction from their AI spending. When their valuations are factored in, Microsoft's largest cloud peers are likely better buys right now.