Microsoft’s (MSFT) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group restated their buy rating on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $522.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Phillip Securities cut Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Forty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $569.29.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $492.90 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $473.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.91. Microsoft has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a 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 posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% during the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 8,773 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $199,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 8.4% in 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 last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 138.8% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 788,297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst confidence is improving. Stifel upgraded Microsoft to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $575, citing Azure growth, Copilot adoption, stable margins and disciplined AI spending. Oppenheimer has also raised its target to $570, reinforcing expectations for additional upside. Microsoft Upgraded as Analyst Sees Steady Margins Even Without Heavy AI Model Spending
• Positive Sentiment: Azure remains the primary growth catalyst. Reports point to a major Azure milestone and two upcoming cloud catalysts that could lead investors to assign a higher valuation to Microsoft’s AI infrastructure and recurring cloud revenue. Strong Azure and Copilot momentum is also expected to support fiscal 2027 growth. Prediction: Microsoft’s Best Growth Opportunity May Still Be Ahead
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding its AI infrastructure footprint. The company plans to invest more than $10 billion in Gulf countries through 2030, including cloud, AI infrastructure, cybersecurity and connectivity. The spending could create longer-term regional demand for Azure and related services. Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Management is reshaping Microsoft around AI. Leadership is emphasizing an AI-first culture, safety evaluators and “emergency brake” controls for advanced systems. These initiatives may strengthen trust and enterprise adoption, though they also highlight regulatory and execution risks. Microsoft Recasts Culture Around AI
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include AI spending and concentration. Warnings about a potential AI bubble, hyperscaler capital requirements and dependence on a small number of customers could limit valuation expansion if AI demand slows.
• Negative Sentiment: Xbox restructuring remains a modest overhang. Microsoft is cutting hundreds of gaming jobs and transferring the next Halo project to Activision, signaling a broader reset in the gaming division. Microsoft Cuts Hundreds More Jobs in Xbox Overhaul

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.