Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 233,876 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $87,240,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.6% of Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company’s 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Microsoft from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Evercore raised Microsoft from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $589.71. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT

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

Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $675 from $525 and reiterated a Buy rating, citing accelerating Azure and Microsoft 365 growth driven by artificial intelligence. The firm believes Microsoft’s valuation remains reasonable despite its recent rally. UBS raises Microsoft price target Positive Sentiment: Multiple Wall Street firms have lifted their targets, with analysts highlighting Azure momentum, approximately 30 million Copilot seats, Microsoft’s commercial backlog and the potential for a larger-than-usual earnings beat. The October 28 results will provide an important test of whether AI spending is translating into revenue and profit. Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Maia 300 custom AI accelerator is expected to scale across Azure data centers and reportedly deliver more tokens per megawatt than conventional GPU systems. The chip could reduce inference costs and Microsoft’s dependence on Nvidia and AMD hardware. Microsoft Maia 300 AI chip Positive Sentiment: AI care-management company Tucuvi joined Microsoft’s Pegasus startup program, potentially expanding Microsoft’s enterprise AI pipeline and go-to-market reach in healthcare. Microsoft also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.98 from $0.91, signaling continued confidence in cash generation. Tucuvi joins Microsoft Pegasus Program Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Azure management is seeking roughly 20% cost reductions could improve efficiency and margins, but also underscore the pressure created by Microsoft’s substantial AI data-center investments. Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s $10 million contribution to a White House ballroom project is unlikely to affect near-term financial results, though it could attract political or reputational scrutiny. Microsoft White House ballroom contribution Negative Sentiment: Higher inflation and bond yields have pressured AI valuations and raised concerns about the financing cost and returns of large infrastructure projects. Microsoft’s strong balance sheet makes it less vulnerable than smaller AI companies, but valuation sensitivity remains a risk. Negative Sentiment: Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft to Hold, while reports of security vulnerabilities, executive share sales and intense competition from rapidly growing AI companies add caution. Amy Hood’s sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, limiting its significance. Microsoft Trading Up 1.1% Shares of MSFT opened at $539.44 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $504.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $439.96. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The stock has a market cap of $4.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 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 firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS 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 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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Microsoft, the cloud and enterprise-software group (MSFT), faces a clear test: turn stronger in-house AI into stronger business returns. The October 16 quote of

Eric Beiley discusses why investors are retreating from AI stocks into more defensive sectors. Key factors driving his thesis include mounting geopolitical risk, rising Treasury yields, and caution heading into the upcoming midterm elections.

Microsoft's AI chief told staff the company quietly trained a model that outperforms a key partner's flagship system at a fraction of the cost, but the market barely flinched, and the reasons why reveal a complicated bet hiding inside the

Billionaire investors did not make their fortunes on luck.

Most of them have been investing for decades and have experience across many cycles, allowing them to recognize the makings of a successful investment before the rest of the market does. That's why many investors are always anxious to see what billionaires are buying and selling each quarter.

Retail investors should never just follow billionaires. Most billionaire investors run hedge funds, which invest on much shorter time horizons. You won't find out about their trades until after they make them, often at least a few months later.

However, following billionaires and their investments can be a good way to get new ideas and test your investment thesis. In the second quarter of the year, billionaires sold six artificial intelligence stocks. Should you?

Image source: Getty Images.

Investors are cautious on the AI trade
All year, investors have been back and forth on the AI trade. Hyperscalers have committed to spending hundreds of billions of dollars on AI-related infrastructure due to what they claim is off-the-charts demand.

While one cohort of the market certainly buys the hype, another is worried that the returns on this capital investment will not be strong enough to justify it. Furthermore, they grow worried that companies once known as cash-generating machines are now generating negative free cash flow.

Investors are also cautious in general right now, believing a correction or market reset is needed after several strong years of returns. In Q2 of the year, billionaires or their funds sold six key stocks in the "Magnificent Seven," which have carried the market for several years now:

Apple (AAPL -0.28%) -- Ole Andreas Halvorsen's Viking Global Investors dumped all of its nearly 3.6 million shares.
Microsoft (MSFT +1.08%) -- David Tepper's Appaloosa Management exited its stake, selling 90,000 shares.
Amazon (AMZN +0.27%) -- Two Sigma, co-founded by billionaires John Overdeck and David Siegel, sold its entire position.
Alphabet (GOOG +0.37%)(GOOGL +0.45%) -- Leon Cooperman sold all of his 75,000 shares in Google's parent company.
Meta Platforms (META -0.11%) -- Billionaire Dan Loeb's Third Point LLC exited Meta.
Tesla (TSLA -1.29%) -- Two Sigma also exited its position in Tesla.

Investors should understand that no one, not even billionaire investors, knows how the AI trade will play out. Billionaires also aren't selling these solely because they don't believe in AI. It also has to do with the individual companies themselves.

For instance, in Q2, Appaloosa sold Microsoft but initiated a new position in Apple while increasing its stakes in Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet. Ultimately, I would advise investors to take a similar approach.

AAPL Apple$342.00-$0.96 (-0.28%)

NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/15/26

Don't simply sell all stocks with AI exposure. Evaluate them on a company-by-company basis. Of the six mentioned above, I would certainly stay away from Tesla, which has launched an autonomous ride-hailing fleet and intends to build humanoid robots.

The technology does not appear to be perfected, but Tesla's valuation of nearly 215 times forward earnings already assumes significant success in these business lines, which isn't guaranteed.

Of the others, while I think there is an investment case for each, Amazon and Apple are my top picks right now. While Amazon is planning for $220 billion of capital expenditures this year, the company's Amazon Web Services cloud division just posted 37% annual revenue growth, its best performance in 18 quarters.

AMZN Amazon$254.76+$0.68 (+0.27%)

NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/15/26

I also think Amazon will be able to take advantage of robotics and heavily integrate the technology into its massive e-commerce business, whether by optimizing its warehouses or relying more on drones to deliver items.

I like Apple simply because it has not invested hundreds of billions in data centers, yet it can still benefit from AI by integrating the technology into its many popular consumer products.

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Veeam® Software, the Data and AI Trust company, today announced the general availability of Veeam Intelligent ResOps for Microsoft 365, the first generally available offering in the Veeam Intelligent ResOps (iResOps) portfolio and an add-on for Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365. Customers connect Veeam iResOps for Microsoft 365 to Veeam Data Cloud in a few clicks, with no data migration and no re-architecture required. They get new visibility across their Microsoft 36.

Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI.

Stephen Brashear/Getty Images

Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman told employees an in-house model was better than a similar offering from OpenAI, one of the software giant's biggest customers and partners.

"We now have a stronger pre-trained base model than the model that currently powers GPT 5.6 Sol," Suleyman said during a town hall meeting with employees on Thursday. "And in fact, we used one-quarter of the compute that OpenAI used to train their model."

Pre-training is the first stage of building an AI model, when it learns patterns from huge amounts of text, images, and other information. This takes massive amounts of expensive computing power, so Microsoft could save money if it's worked out a way to do this more efficiently.

Microsoft announced the model, MAI-Base-2, earlier on Thursday.

Suleyman said Microsoft privately tested this model against OpenAI models, including one nicknamed "Spud" that powers GPT-5.6. He added that Microsoft's model performed better on tests measuring how well AI can understand and predict patterns in information.

The comparisons are based on technical information Microsoft has about OpenAI's models, Suleyman said.

"Privately and confidentially, we've also compared it to the OpenAI models," Suleyman told employees, while suggesting that Microsoft has special access to information on how OpenAI models perform.

It's notable that Suleyman would choose to highlight limitations of OpenAI models, even in private discussions. Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI, and owns a stake in the startup that is likely worth more than $100 billion. Any criticism of OpenAI could potentially dent the value of this huge investment.

The two companies also have a major partnership, with Microsoft offering OpenAI models to its Azure cloud customers. Microsoft has used OpenAI models for its own products such as Copilot, too.

But the relationship between the two companies has frayed in the past year or so. Increasingly, Microsoft has tried to branch out from OpenAI, including by working on its own models.

Suleyman also said Microsoft's new AI model used "12 times less computation than was used for DeepSeek, for example, on compute efficiency."

Suleyman didn't specify which DeepSeek model, but a public blog post described the pre-training of MAI-Base-2 being a lot more efficient than a similar offering from the Chinese lab, called DeepSeek-V4-Pro-Base.

Microsoft in March created a new combined team for its commercial and consumer Copilot products and reassigned Suleyman to focus on building AI models in the company's superintelligence unit.

Microsoft declined to comment and OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

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Microsoft shares rose on Thursday as five Wall Street firms raised their price targets, citing demand for its Azure cloud platform and growing enterprise adoption of artificial intelligence, even as the broader AI trade remained under pressure. Microsoft stock MSFT was recently up around 1.12% at $539.67 after falling 1.8% in the previous session.

Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options: https://bit.ly/2v9tH6D. Microsoft (MSFT) shined as a bright spot in tech on a day where the AI stocks took a hit across the board, thanks to multiple price target hikes from analysts.

Azure is booking revenue faster than almost any cloud business in history, yet its leadership reportedly just told team heads to slash costs by a fifth. Something about the math behind that explosive growth is not adding up.

Azure group at Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) was told to cut costs by at least 20%, and Microsoft denied it the same day. The stock closed down 1.80% at $533.69. That left a $3.96 trillion market value, back below $4 trillion after a $4.04 trillion close on October 13.

The report, which cited people familiar with the plans, said Girish Bablani, head of the Azure group that builds software for Microsoft’s cloud servers, asked team leaders for the cuts. That group has about 11,500 staff.

Azure brought in $101.9 billion in revenue in the 12 months ending in June, up 40% from a year earlier. A business growing that fast seldom goes looking for a fifth of its cost base unless the growth costs more than it appears to or the money is needed for something bigger, and at Microsoft both may be true.

Reported Target Versus Company Denial
The reported savings would help pay for AI data center spending and for higher pay to keep engineers that rivals such as Anthropic are trying to hire. Ending contracts with outside vendors was one possible step.

The report did not say whether it would cut jobs. A spokesperson said “Azure leadership has not directed teams to develop cost-cutting plans,” and added, “Every responsible company prepares for a range of scenarios and market dynamics, both positive and negative.”

Capex, meaning money spent on data centers and chips, reached $115.95 billion in fiscal 2026. Management expects it to reach about $175 billion in fiscal 2027.

That spending has to come out of the operating business. In the June quarter, free cash flow fell 23.19% to $19.64 billion, and Microsoft has guided fiscal 2027 operating margins down less than a point. Cutting costs inside Azure is the most direct way to hold that margin while the capex bill keeps climbing.

Talent and Leadership Signals
If Microsoft pays more to keep engineers and still cuts costs by a fifth, the savings would have to come from contractors, vendors, and projects. Those suppliers are the first places to look for any effect.

Cloud chief Scott Guthrie is also reshaping Azure’s leadership, and Arun Ulag is set to manage Bablani. A reorganization that arrives with a cost push points to closer control of the unit.

Chief financial officer Amy Hood addressed capacity on the July 29 call. She said, “demand continues to exceed available supply.”

Commercial remaining performance obligations, which measure signed revenue Microsoft has not yet recognized, rose 84% to $678 billion. Given the backlog and a record-high close on October 13, a small dip on a denied report looks reasonable.

What MSFT Investors Should Watch Next
If the reported cuts are real, they target overhead so Microsoft can pay for capacity customers have already signed up for, and that is a funding decision tied to strong demand. The shares are up 11.06% year to date and trade at about 30 times earnings, a multiple investors can weigh against this growth.

For comparison, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) has posted faster cloud growth, with Google Cloud’s growth running from 32% to 63% over recent quarters. Both companies report after the close on October 28. If Microsoft keeps its margin outlook and its approximately $175 billion capex plan, the report likely carries little weight for the outlook. A lower margin outlook or disclosed restructuring charges would change that view.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Causey Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,527 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,689,000. Microsoft accounts for 0.7% of Causey Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying 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 $60,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $101,000. Finally, Glynn Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled its Maia 300 custom AI accelerator, designed for multi-gigawatt deployment across Azure data centers. Management says it can deliver 40% more tokens per megawatt than a GPU-based system, potentially lowering inference costs and reducing reliance on Nvidia and AMD hardware. What Could Microsoft Gain From Its Maia 300 AI Chip Rollout? Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism remains focused on Azure growth, Microsoft’s AI backlog, and more than $130 billion in reported data-center leases. The scale of commitments supports long-term demand for Azure and Copilot, although it also raises capital-spending risks. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $512 and expects the upcoming fiscal first-quarter report to show improving differentiation in software. Earnings are scheduled for October 28. Microsoft Price Target Raised by Barclays Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure chief reportedly seeks at least 20% cost cuts in an effort to offset soaring AI data-center expenses. The move could improve efficiency and margins, but it also highlights pressure from the company’s aggressive investment cycle. Microsoft Weighs 20% Cost Cuts in Azure Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is introducing new AI-enabled Surface devices and an Xbox Nano Controller, supporting its broader push to put generative AI into consumer hardware. These products are strategically relevant but are unlikely to materially affect near-term results. Negative Sentiment: Hot inflation data pushed bond yields higher and triggered a broad selloff in AI-related shares, increasing concern that expensive AI infrastructure projects may face higher financing costs and tougher valuation scrutiny. Negative Sentiment: Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft to “hold,” while Erste Group made a minor reduction to its FY2028 earnings forecast. These actions add to near-term caution following the stock’s strong run. Negative Sentiment: EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares worth approximately $4.0 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance and represents only 1.3% of her holdings, it is a limited bearish signal. Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft issued security updates addressing more than 1,400 vulnerabilities could renew concerns about cybersecurity exposure, though patching the flaws is ultimately protective. Microsoft Stock Down 1.8% NASDAQ MSFT opened at $533.69 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $504.15 and a 200-day moving average of $438.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS 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 return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued 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 yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded 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. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $581.24.

View Our Latest Research Report on MSFT

Insider Buying and Selling In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. 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 three months, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992. Corporate 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.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Microsoft Tesla Wants to Make Its Own Chips—What Could Go Wrong? IREN Limited’s AI Pivot Gains Traction—But Can Its Data Centers Deliver? PBF Energy’s Stunning Rally Faces a Critical Test Citi Stock Falls Despite Earnings Beat: What Investors Need to Know 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).

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Expressive Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,078 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,894,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.8% of Expressive Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $101,000. Finally, Glynn Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled its Maia 300 custom AI accelerator, designed for multi-gigawatt deployment across Azure data centers. Management says it can deliver 40% more tokens per megawatt than a GPU-based system, potentially lowering inference costs and reducing reliance on Nvidia and AMD hardware. What Could Microsoft Gain From Its Maia 300 AI Chip Rollout? Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism remains focused on Azure growth, Microsoft’s AI backlog, and more than $130 billion in reported data-center leases. The scale of commitments supports long-term demand for Azure and Copilot, although it also raises capital-spending risks. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $512 and expects the upcoming fiscal first-quarter report to show improving differentiation in software. Earnings are scheduled for October 28. Microsoft Price Target Raised by Barclays Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure chief reportedly seeks at least 20% cost cuts in an effort to offset soaring AI data-center expenses. The move could improve efficiency and margins, but it also highlights pressure from the company’s aggressive investment cycle. Microsoft Weighs 20% Cost Cuts in Azure Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is introducing new AI-enabled Surface devices and an Xbox Nano Controller, supporting its broader push to put generative AI into consumer hardware. These products are strategically relevant but are unlikely to materially affect near-term results. Negative Sentiment: Hot inflation data pushed bond yields higher and triggered a broad selloff in AI-related shares, increasing concern that expensive AI infrastructure projects may face higher financing costs and tougher valuation scrutiny. Negative Sentiment: Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft to “hold,” while Erste Group made a minor reduction to its FY2028 earnings forecast. These actions add to near-term caution following the stock’s strong run. Negative Sentiment: EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares worth approximately $4.0 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance and represents only 1.3% of her holdings, it is a limited bearish signal. Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft issued security updates addressing more than 1,400 vulnerabilities could renew concerns about cybersecurity exposure, though patching the flaws is ultimately protective. Microsoft Stock Performance MSFT stock opened at $533.69 on Thursday. 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 capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $504.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $438.68. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for 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%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The firm 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. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft In other Microsoft 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 owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total value of $3,984,293.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 555,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,924,086.32. This trade represents a 1.30% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Microsoft from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $581.24.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft

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 Tesla Wants to Make Its Own Chips—What Could Go Wrong? IREN Limited’s AI Pivot Gains Traction—But Can Its Data Centers Deliver? PBF Energy’s Stunning Rally Faces a Critical Test Citi Stock Falls Despite Earnings Beat: What Investors Need to Know 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).

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Cauble & Harre Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in 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 bought 5,410 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $2,018,000. Microsoft comprises 1.6% of Cauble & Harre Wealth Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth $1,815,000. Causey Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $1,689,000. Keebeck Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $18,389,000. Blue Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $708,000. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $8,307,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling In related news, 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 transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was 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 have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week: Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled its Maia 300 custom AI accelerator, designed for multi-gigawatt deployment across Azure data centers. Management says it can deliver 40% more tokens per megawatt than a GPU-based system, potentially lowering inference costs and reducing reliance on Nvidia and AMD hardware. What Could Microsoft Gain From Its Maia 300 AI Chip Rollout? Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism remains focused on Azure growth, Microsoft’s AI backlog, and more than $130 billion in reported data-center leases. The scale of commitments supports long-term demand for Azure and Copilot, although it also raises capital-spending risks. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $512 and expects the upcoming fiscal first-quarter report to show improving differentiation in software. Earnings are scheduled for October 28. Microsoft Price Target Raised by Barclays Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure chief reportedly seeks at least 20% cost cuts in an effort to offset soaring AI data-center expenses. The move could improve efficiency and margins, but it also highlights pressure from the company’s aggressive investment cycle. Microsoft Weighs 20% Cost Cuts in Azure Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is introducing new AI-enabled Surface devices and an Xbox Nano Controller, supporting its broader push to put generative AI into consumer hardware. These products are strategically relevant but are unlikely to materially affect near-term results. Negative Sentiment: Hot inflation data pushed bond yields higher and triggered a broad selloff in AI-related shares, increasing concern that expensive AI infrastructure projects may face higher financing costs and tougher valuation scrutiny. Negative Sentiment: Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft to “hold,” while Erste Group made a minor reduction to its FY2028 earnings forecast. These actions add to near-term caution following the stock’s strong run. Negative Sentiment: EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares worth approximately $4.0 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance and represents only 1.3% of her holdings, it is a limited bearish signal. Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft issued security updates addressing more than 1,400 vulnerabilities could renew concerns about cybersecurity exposure, though patching the flaws is ultimately protective. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Mizuho cut their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered Microsoft from an “overweight” rating to a “negative” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $581.24.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8% Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $533.69 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $504.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $438.68. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. 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 released its 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. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. 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.

See Also Five stocks we like better than Microsoft Tesla Wants to Make Its Own Chips—What Could Go Wrong? IREN Limited’s AI Pivot Gains Traction—But Can Its Data Centers Deliver? PBF Energy’s Stunning Rally Faces a Critical Test Citi Stock Falls Despite Earnings Beat: What Investors Need to Know

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Azure just crossed $100 billion in annual revenue and Microsoft's commercial backlog dwarfs what most investors track, yet the stock's biggest risk has nothing to do with AI demand fading.

The 24/7 Wall St. price target for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) is $646.49 over the next 12 months. That means 20.82% upside from the latest close of $535.07. Our model rates the stock a buy with high confidence.

24/7 Wall St. Price Target Summary

Metric
Value

Current Price
$535.07

Price Target from 24/7 Wall St.
$646.49

Upside/Downside
20.82%

Recommendation
BUY

Confidence Level
90%

My thesis looks past a single AI spending wave. Microsoft has a $678B commercial backlog,

Azure topped $100B in annual revenue for the first time, and Copilot is moving toward what management calls a seat-plus-usage model. Those are recurring enterprise revenue streams built to survive any one hype cycle.

A 37% Rally Since July Puts Microsoft Near Its High
Microsoft has gained 4.33% over the past week, 9.83% over the past month and 12.36% year to date. From July 13 through October 9, shares rose 37.11%. The stock now sits just below its 52-week high of $549.20 and well above its low of $348.54.

The rally started with the fiscal Q4 report on July 29. Revenue of $90.01B beat the $87.63B consensus, and non-GAAP EPS of $4.74 exceeded the $4.24 estimate. Azure grew 43%. On Monday, Barron’s reported that an AI warning from Microsoft’s CEO drew little reaction from cybersecurity stocks.

Why Bulls See $750 Within Reach
Our bull case hits $751.56. CFO Amy Hood said “demand continues to exceed available supply,” and management guided first-quarter Azure growth to around 45% in constant currency. Microsoft 365 Copilot passed 30 million paid seats.

Analysts have been raising forecasts: fiscal 2028 EPS estimates rose to $23.6759 from $22.6278 90 days ago. Wall Street has 14 Strong Buy, 39 Buy and 2 Hold ratings, with no Sells, and a consensus target of $587.63.

Capex Is the Risk Worth Watching
The bear case lands at $546.65. Fiscal 2026 capex jumped 79.62% to $115.95B, and free cash flow fell 6.46%. Fiscal 2027 capex is expected to hits about $175 billion. Excluding OpenAI, commercial RPO grew a more modest 25%. Q4 EPS also included a $3.20B gain from the Anthropic investment.

Operating cash flow rose 34.35% to $182.94B, and Hood noted that spending has moving toward short-lived chips that Microsoft can slow down if demand cools.

How Microsoft Compares to Alphabet and Amazon
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) competes head to head for enterprise AI cloud customers. Google Cloud grew 82%, but Alphabet’s low trailing P/E is boosted by a $99.03 billion equity gain, and its quarterly free cash flow came in at negative $5.855 billion.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) runs AWS, Azure’s largest rival. AWS grew 37%, slower than Azure, yet Amazon trades at a higher earnings multiple and posted negative trailing free cash flow of $7.6 billion.

Company
Trailing P/E
Latest Cloud Growth

Microsoft
30
43%

Alphabet
16
82%

Amazon
36
37%

Microsoft pairs a middle-of-the-pack multiple with positive free cash flow. Against this peer group, our target looks reasonable.

Microsoft Price Prediction 2026-2030
The 24/7 Wall St. price target of $646.49 has a buy rating and 90% confidence. The backlog grounds the thesis.

The bull thesis holds as long as Azure keeps growing above 40% and Copilot seat additions keep rose. Rising capex alongside flat backlog growth outside OpenAI would weaken the thesis. For now, the fundamentals support the model’s target.

The 24/7 Wall St. price target model projects where Microsoft could trade in the years ahead, assuming current growth trends and market conditions hold.

Year
Price Target from 24/7 Wall St.

2026 (December)
$562.94

2027 (October)
$647.36

2028 (October)
$738.64

2029 (October)
$817.69

2030 (October)
$875.72

The projections assume Microsoft keeps doing its current strategy. Faster growth in Copilot usage revenue could push results higher, while a decline in AI infrastructure demand could pull them lower. The expansion runs on more than chips, which is why we highlighted seven power, cooling, and networking suppliers behind the data centers in a free report you can grab here.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Iyo Bank Ltd. bought 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 (SEC). The fund bought 77,222 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $28,805,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 8.7% of Iyo Bank Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of 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 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 raised its position 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 worth $8,982,083,000 after acquiring an additional 9,493,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Microsoft by 7.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity In other Microsoft 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft 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 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.8% Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $533.69 on Thursday. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The company has a market cap of $3.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $504.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $438.68. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued 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 for 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 revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Melius Research set a $665.00 target price on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $581.24.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT

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

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled its Maia 300 custom AI accelerator, designed for multi-gigawatt deployment across Azure data centers. Management says it can deliver 40% more tokens per megawatt than a GPU-based system, potentially lowering inference costs and reducing reliance on Nvidia and AMD hardware. What Could Microsoft Gain From Its Maia 300 AI Chip Rollout? Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism remains focused on Azure growth, Microsoft’s AI backlog, and more than $130 billion in reported data-center leases. The scale of commitments supports long-term demand for Azure and Copilot, although it also raises capital-spending risks. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $512 and expects the upcoming fiscal first-quarter report to show improving differentiation in software. Earnings are scheduled for October 28. Microsoft Price Target Raised by Barclays Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure chief reportedly seeks at least 20% cost cuts in an effort to offset soaring AI data-center expenses. The move could improve efficiency and margins, but it also highlights pressure from the company’s aggressive investment cycle. Microsoft Weighs 20% Cost Cuts in Azure Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is introducing new AI-enabled Surface devices and an Xbox Nano Controller, supporting its broader push to put generative AI into consumer hardware. These products are strategically relevant but are unlikely to materially affect near-term results. Negative Sentiment: Hot inflation data pushed bond yields higher and triggered a broad selloff in AI-related shares, increasing concern that expensive AI infrastructure projects may face higher financing costs and tougher valuation scrutiny. Negative Sentiment: Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft to “hold,” while Erste Group made a minor reduction to its FY2028 earnings forecast. These actions add to near-term caution following the stock’s strong run. Negative Sentiment: EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares worth approximately $4.0 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance and represents only 1.3% of her holdings, it is a limited bearish signal. Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft issued security updates addressing more than 1,400 vulnerabilities could renew concerns about cybersecurity exposure, though patching the flaws is ultimately protective. 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 Tesla Wants to Make Its Own Chips—What Could Go Wrong? IREN Limited’s AI Pivot Gains Traction—But Can Its Data Centers Deliver? PBF Energy’s Stunning Rally Faces a Critical Test Citi Stock Falls Despite Earnings Beat: What Investors Need to Know 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.

Concord Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 30,114 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $10,742,000. Microsoft makes up 2.9% of Concord Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Korea Investment CORP acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,873,752,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $350,329,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,934,000. M1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,062,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $12,688,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 target price on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $581.24.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Microsoft Microsoft Stock Down 1.8% Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $533.69 on Thursday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $504.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $438.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10.

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 (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 analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The business 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 $0.98 dividend. 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 a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled its Maia 300 custom AI accelerator, designed for multi-gigawatt deployment across Azure data centers. Management says it can deliver 40% more tokens per megawatt than a GPU-based system, potentially lowering inference costs and reducing reliance on Nvidia and AMD hardware. What Could Microsoft Gain From Its Maia 300 AI Chip Rollout? Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism remains focused on Azure growth, Microsoft’s AI backlog, and more than $130 billion in reported data-center leases. The scale of commitments supports long-term demand for Azure and Copilot, although it also raises capital-spending risks. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $512 and expects the upcoming fiscal first-quarter report to show improving differentiation in software. Earnings are scheduled for October 28. Microsoft Price Target Raised by Barclays Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure chief reportedly seeks at least 20% cost cuts in an effort to offset soaring AI data-center expenses. The move could improve efficiency and margins, but it also highlights pressure from the company’s aggressive investment cycle. Microsoft Weighs 20% Cost Cuts in Azure Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is introducing new AI-enabled Surface devices and an Xbox Nano Controller, supporting its broader push to put generative AI into consumer hardware. These products are strategically relevant but are unlikely to materially affect near-term results. Negative Sentiment: Hot inflation data pushed bond yields higher and triggered a broad selloff in AI-related shares, increasing concern that expensive AI infrastructure projects may face higher financing costs and tougher valuation scrutiny. Negative Sentiment: Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft to “hold,” while Erste Group made a minor reduction to its FY2028 earnings forecast. These actions add to near-term caution following the stock’s strong run. Negative Sentiment: EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares worth approximately $4.0 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance and represents only 1.3% of her holdings, it is a limited bearish signal. Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft issued security updates addressing more than 1,400 vulnerabilities could renew concerns about cybersecurity exposure, though patching the flaws is ultimately protective. 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.

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Burnham & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 14,386 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $5,366,000. Microsoft makes up 4.3% of Burnham & Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Frankly Finances LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% during the 2nd 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. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $101,000. Finally, Glynn Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% 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 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8% Shares of MSFT opened at $533.69 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $504.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $438.68. 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, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Evercore raised Microsoft from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Argus reduced their target price on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $581.24.

Get Our Latest Report on Microsoft

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

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled its Maia 300 custom AI accelerator, designed for multi-gigawatt deployment across Azure data centers. Management says it can deliver 40% more tokens per megawatt than a GPU-based system, potentially lowering inference costs and reducing reliance on Nvidia and AMD hardware. What Could Microsoft Gain From Its Maia 300 AI Chip Rollout? Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism remains focused on Azure growth, Microsoft’s AI backlog, and more than $130 billion in reported data-center leases. The scale of commitments supports long-term demand for Azure and Copilot, although it also raises capital-spending risks. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $512 and expects the upcoming fiscal first-quarter report to show improving differentiation in software. Earnings are scheduled for October 28. Microsoft Price Target Raised by Barclays Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure chief reportedly seeks at least 20% cost cuts in an effort to offset soaring AI data-center expenses. The move could improve efficiency and margins, but it also highlights pressure from the company’s aggressive investment cycle. Microsoft Weighs 20% Cost Cuts in Azure Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is introducing new AI-enabled Surface devices and an Xbox Nano Controller, supporting its broader push to put generative AI into consumer hardware. These products are strategically relevant but are unlikely to materially affect near-term results. Negative Sentiment: Hot inflation data pushed bond yields higher and triggered a broad selloff in AI-related shares, increasing concern that expensive AI infrastructure projects may face higher financing costs and tougher valuation scrutiny. Negative Sentiment: Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft to “hold,” while Erste Group made a minor reduction to its FY2028 earnings forecast. These actions add to near-term caution following the stock’s strong run. Negative Sentiment: EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares worth approximately $4.0 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance and represents only 1.3% of her holdings, it is a limited bearish signal. Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft issued security updates addressing more than 1,400 vulnerabilities could renew concerns about cybersecurity exposure, though patching the flaws is ultimately protective. 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 Tesla Wants to Make Its Own Chips—What Could Go Wrong? IREN Limited’s AI Pivot Gains Traction—But Can Its Data Centers Deliver? PBF Energy’s Stunning Rally Faces a Critical Test Citi Stock Falls Despite Earnings Beat: What Investors Need to Know 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).

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Microsoft (MSFT -1.80%) finished Tuesday, Oct. 13, at $543.45, its first record close since Oct. 28, 2025, when shares ended the day at $542.07. All told, 240 trading days passed between the two records.

The stock didn't drift sideways in between. It dropped to $352.83 by June 25, around 35% under the last record, before rising about 54% to get back.

Microsoft has gone at least 150 trading days without a record close seven other times since it went public in 1986. For five of them, the stock was up a year after the wait ended. For the other two, it was down -- and the two misses have something in common with the wait that just ended.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Seven long waitsThe numbers here use split-adjusted closing prices from March 1986 through Oct. 13. "A year later" means the price on the same date a year after the new record (or the trading day before, if the market was closed), leaving out dividends.

The first wait started just two weeks before the stock market crash in October 1987, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.09%) dropped 22.6% in a day. Microsoft lost around half its value by late October and didn't close at a new record until Oct. 5, 1989, 507 trading days later.

A year after that, shares were up about 63%.

The 1990s saw three more waits. Each lasted 193 to 241 trading days, with a fall of 24% to 26% along the way. The waits that ended in May 1994 and April 1996 were followed by gains of around 67% and 96% in the next year.

But the one that ended in October 1992 was followed by a 9% drop.

Then came the long one. The company's record close on Dec. 27, 1999, stood until Oct. 21, 2016, nearly 17 years later. At the March 2009 low, shares traded around 75% under the 1999 record. A year after the 2016 record, they were up about 32%. (With prices that also adjust for dividends, that wait ended in 2014 instead.)

The last two waits split. The period from November 2021 to June 2023 saw a 38% fall, and the stock rose around 27% over the next year. The wait from July 2024 to June 2025 had a 24% drop, and shares were about 11% lower a year after it ended.

What went wrong in 1992 and 2025?In both misses, the stock kept rising for a few more months after the new record. Then it peaked, and another long wait began.

After the October 1992 record, Microsoft rose around 10% further to a record close on June 1, 1993. That close started the 241-trading-day wait that ran till May 1994, and the drop during it dragged the one-year return below zero.

The June 2025 record played out almost the same way. Shares gained around 16% more to the Oct. 28, 2025 high, which began the wait that just ended. By June 5, 2026, the stock was around 11% under the June 2025 record.

In other words, both misses came from a second long wait starting within months of the first one ending.

Notably, the only other time a long wait began within a year of the last one ending was 1993. And when that wait finally ended in May 1994, shares climbed around 67% in the next year. Of course, seven cases are a small sample, and one match might easily be a fluke.

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Moneyball Superscore

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Microsoft got cheaper while it waitedI'd put more weight on what the company did while the stock stood still.

At the Oct. 28, 2025 record, Microsoft's price-to-earnings ratio was around 40, based on earnings of $13.64 a share in fiscal 2025 (Microsoft's fiscal years end June 30). At Tuesday's record close, it cost around 30 times earnings. That's because earnings per share gained 32% to $17.95 for fiscal 2026. Even leaving out the effect of Microsoft's investment in OpenAI, the non-GAAP (adjusted) number rose 22%.

Put another way, each dollar put in the stock at Tuesday's close bought almost a third more earnings than it did at the last record. Microsoft's fiscal 2027 first-quarter report, due Wednesday, Oct. 28, might show if the growth is holding up.

All told, five of seven is a decent record. But I wouldn't count on a pattern so thin. What I find more convincing is that Microsoft arguably grew into its valuation while the stock went nowhere. And with adjusted earnings up 22% last fiscal year, paying around 30 times earnings for the stock today seems reasonable to me.

Microsoft (MSFT -1.80%) has had a challenging past 12 months, as many investors think that artificial intelligence (AI) will displace the services that many software corporations, including Microsoft, provide. However, the tech giant has roared back over the past three months.

During the third quarter of the calendar year, the company's shares gained almost 38%, its best quarterly performance since 1998. It would have been nice to buy Microsoft's shares three months ago, before its third-quarter run, but is there any more upside from current levels? Let's find out.

Image source: The Motley Fool. Image source: The Motley Fool.

Why Microsoft bounced backMicrosoft stock hit a fresh 52-week low around late June. About a month later, the company released its fourth-quarter update for its fiscal year 2026, which ended on June 30. Microsoft's results were excellent, coming up ahead of analyst estimates.

The company's revenue increased by 18% year over year to $90 billion. Microsoft's operating income jumped 18% year over year to $40.6 billion, while its non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $4.74, 23% higher than the year-ago period. Microsoft's strong performance was largely due to its AI and cloud computing businesses, which helped dispel fears that the company's services would eventually lose out to AI.

Quite the opposite is happening. Microsoft is capitalizing on AI by launching tools that cater to its clients. That includes AI agents that automate tasks and boost the productivity of the businesses that depend on Microsoft's tools in their day-to-day activities.

Of course, Microsoft offers plenty of cloud services beyond AI. During the company's fourth quarter, revenue from Microsoft Azure (its cloud computing platform) grew 43% year over year. Azure sales exceeded $100 billion during Microsoft's fiscal year 2026 for the first time. Microsoft's entire cloud business -- including Azure and other segments -- posted $59.3 billion in revenue during the company's Q4, up 27% year over year.

The company ended the quarter with $678 billion in cloud commercial remaining performance obligations, up 84% year over year. So, it isn't just that Microsoft performed well. The company's massive backlog signals sustained demand for its cloud services, and that's great news for the company's medium-term prospects. That's why Microsoft's shares have been rebounding.

What the future may holdWe may be entering the next wave of AI, one that increasingly features agentic systems that can help people and businesses accomplish tasks and work toward goals. Microsoft is in a solid position to capitalize on this, as it has already started launching agents. The company's strengths that have enabled it to become one of the leaders in the cloud computing market will remain hugely important.

These strengths include long-standing relationships with millions of enterprises that use its products every day. Microsoft can integrate new services across the products its clients already use. In fact, as the company pointed out in its fourth-quarter update, Microsoft 365 Copilot -- a suite of AI assistants built into apps like Word and Excel that can automate various tasks -- ended the period with more than 30 million paid seats.

Further, the company has a culture of innovation and generates significant cash flow that can help it stay ahead of rapid technological change, such as the one we are experiencing with AI. Microsoft has already spent a fortune on capex to keep up its AI build-out, and we can expect the company to continue doing so. Some may see that as a bad sign, but Microsoft's financial results strongly suggest that the investment is worth it.

In my view, the company still has significant opportunities in cloud computing and AI, and additional investments are more than justified, especially if they lead to margin gains down the line. Microsoft is increasingly relying on its internally developed Maia series of custom chips, which, as the company has pointed out, leads to better performance per watt when running its MAI foundation AI models.

These are all good reasons Microsoft's prospects look bright, and it's also worth noting that the stock doesn't look prohibitively expensive. Microsoft is trading at 25.1x forward earnings, versus an average of 20.9x for information technology stocks. The company is worth a premium given its outstanding position in AI and cloud computing, wide moat from switching costs, and significant growth prospects. So, even after its recent run, Microsoft stock is a buy.

Lower-cost AI is creating harder questions around security and blame.

Summary

Companies want cheaper bots, but accountability is still unsettled.

Cheap AI models can save companies money. The harder question is what happens when those tools mishandle sensitive data or make a costly decision no one knows how to unwind.

Microsoft-backed (MSFT) OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar is warning businesses to think carefully before relying on lower-cost Chinese AI models, arguing that some open-source systems can create cybersecurity risks for corporate networks.

Speaking to Bloomberg Television, Friar said companies should favor Western AI software when protecting sensitive information.

Anthropic executive Guillaume Princen made a similar argument, saying open models can carry additional risks because users are able to alter the underlying code.

Those comments come as Chinese AI models gain traction partly because they are cheaper and easier to download than many premium U.S. alternatives.

That puts businesses in a familiar bind: lower software costs on one side, potentially higher security risk on the other.

Companies still do not know who owns an AI mistakeSecurity is only part of the problem.

A separate Wharton School study found that managers are still divided over who should take responsibility when workplace AI makes a serious error.

Respondents split roughly evenly among the employee using the bot, that employee's manager and the company's risk team.

That lack of agreement becomes more important as companies give AI agents access to customer records and internal systems.

The danger is not necessarily a dramatic system failure.

Sometimes it can begin with something much smaller.

The report cited an example in which a retail worker configured a bot incorrectly and it sent erroneous refund notices to 18,000 customers within hours.

That is what changes when software goes from answering questions to taking actions.

A human mistake that once affected one transaction can suddenly be repeated thousands of times.

OpenAI says slowing down carries its own riskFriar also argued that U.S. AI companies cannot respond by simply slowing development.

Her concern is that moving too cautiously could allow foreign competitors to gain ground.

OpenAI, meanwhile, is still scaling quickly. Friar said the company reached nearly $50 billion in annualized revenue during the third quarter and expects that figure to reach roughly $70 billion by year-end.

What stands out to me is that these two stories are really about the same problem.

Companies want AI to become cheaper, faster and more autonomous. But the more authority they hand to software, the more important questions around security, permissions and responsibility become.

For investors and businesses, I would watch enterprise AI security spending, adoption of autonomous agents and whether companies begin assigning clearer accountability when AI systems make mistakes.

The next stage of workplace AI will not be judged only by what the models can do.

It will also be judged by who takes responsibility when they do the wrong thing.

Disclosures
I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and have no plans to buy any new positions in the stocks mentioned within the next 72 hours.

Click for the complete disclosure

Sycale Advisors NY LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 42,189 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $15,737,000. Microsoft makes up 4.8% of Sycale Advisors NY LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,426,862,000 after buying an additional 9,814,598 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised 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 buying an additional 2,784,809 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position 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 worth $8,982,083,000 after buying an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted 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 buying an additional 1,599,412 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the 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 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 three months, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft 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. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Microsoft from $512.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. William Blair started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. BNP Paribas Exane cut Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $581.80.

Get Our Latest Report on MSFT

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4% Shares of MSFT opened at $543.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.26, a PEG 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. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $503.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $437.50. 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 (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, 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 analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The firm 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 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. 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.

See Also 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).

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OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 33,166 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $12,372,000. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.6% of OneAscent Financial Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 8,773 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $199,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 788,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $543.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $503.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $437.50. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. 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 capitalization of $4.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 1.74 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 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 net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. 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. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

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. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $581.80.

Check Out Our Latest Report on MSFT

Insider Buying and Selling In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 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 owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 over the last quarter. 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 Stories 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

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OneAscent Wealth Management LLC purchased 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 purchased 3,404 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,270,000. Microsoft accounts for 0.4% of OneAscent Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 431 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sequent Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Sequent Planning LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,382,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% in the second quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC now owns 687 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC now owns 5,543 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,052,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 legal filing 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 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 owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4% MSFT opened at $543.45 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $503.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $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 P/E ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. 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 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. The firm 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 business’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 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Microsoft from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Forty-two 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $581.80.

Read Our Latest Analysis on MSFT

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft 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 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.

See Also 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

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Keebeck Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 49,298 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $18,389,000. Microsoft accounts for 1.8% of Keebeck Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Blue Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $708,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $8,307,000. Alaska Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,090,000. Encore Global Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $5,316,000. Finally, OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $1,900,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft 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. Insider Transactions at Microsoft In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, 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 have sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of 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’s 50 day moving average is $503.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $437.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. Phillip Securities cut Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America increased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $581.80.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Microsoft

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 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.

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.

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