Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 1.2% – Should You Buy?

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price traded up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $513.73 and last traded at $506.06. Approximately 30,930,618 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 37,914,664 shares. The stock had previously closed at $499.99.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Higher analyst targets: Wells Fargo raised its Microsoft price target from $650 to $700 and maintained an “overweight” rating. Bernstein also raised its target to $660, arguing that Microsoft’s data-center expansion is disciplined and supported by durable cloud demand. Wells Fargo raises Microsoft price target
• Positive Sentiment: AI and Azure growth remain key drivers: Investors continue to focus on Microsoft’s strong cloud backlog, Azure growth potential and ability to monetize AI across its enterprise software ecosystem. Coverage characterizes the company as increasingly attractive for long-term investors following its latest earnings beat. Microsoft AI and cloud investment outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Custom AI chips could improve economics: Reports that Microsoft may unveil its Maia 300 AI chip as early as September, with production targeted at more than 300,000 units by 2027, suggest an effort to reduce dependence on Nvidia and control infrastructure costs. Microsoft Maia 300 chip report
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial adoption is expanding: S&P Global is integrating its data and analytics into Microsoft 365 Copilot, while Brazilian businesses are adopting Microsoft AI and cloud technologies. These developments support broader enterprise demand for Copilot and Azure. S&P Global expands collaboration with Microsoft
• Neutral Sentiment: Market positioning is unsettled: Microsoft dipped while chip stocks rallied after strong industry earnings indicated continued AI demand. This appears more like a sector rotation than a deterioration in Microsoft’s fundamentals. Software stocks slide as chip stocks rally
• Negative Sentiment: Spending and execution risks remain: Investors are monitoring whether rising AI data-center capital expenditures will pressure margins, cash flow and returns. Reports of internal limits on excessive AI usage also reinforce concerns about cost discipline, while newly reported securities litigation adds a modest headline risk. Microsoft AI data-center spending risks

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore set a $528.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Dbs Bank cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $560.27.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $407.02 and its 200 day moving average is $407.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted 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 net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Emerald Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $42,601,000. Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $73,219,000. Iyo Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,805,000. TRB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,211,000. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,463,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).