Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Raised to $625.00

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price objective upped by Scotiabank from $615.00 to $625.00 in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a sector outperform rating on the software giant’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MSFT. William Blair started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Microsoft from $522.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $570.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Forty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $596.07.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $531.01 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $511.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $437.96. Microsoft has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $551.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.71 by $0.18. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 19.66 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 paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. 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. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in Microsoft by 2.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 315,653,206 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $117,744,959,000 after acquiring an additional 8,944,917 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,375,360 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $24,013,297,000 after purchasing an additional 543,172 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $18,306,443,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 46,694,778 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $17,418,076,000 after purchasing an additional 5,019,702 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft reported earnings of $4.89 per share versus the $4.71–$4.72 consensus and revenue of $92.28 billion, up 19% year over year and above estimates of approximately $90.6 billion. Net income increased 32%, while the company extended its streak of record quarterly revenue. Microsoft Beats Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth accelerated to 48%, generating approximately $33.2 billion in quarterly revenue. Stronger-than-expected cloud demand suggests Microsoft’s investments in artificial intelligence and Copilot-related services are beginning to translate into significant sales and profit growth. Microsoft Azure Revenue Surges
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft disclosed that commercial arrangements with OpenAI produced roughly $10 billion of revenue during the quarter, highlighting the value of the partnership but also the company’s substantial financial dependence on a single AI ecosystem. Microsoft Recorded $10 Billion in Revenue From OpenAI
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft lowered its 2026 capital-expenditure forecast to $170 billion from $175 billion, citing delays in third-party capacity. The reduction may ease cash-flow pressure, but it also raises concerns that infrastructure constraints could limit Azure growth and delay returns on AI investment. Microsoft Cuts Capex Forecast on AI Capacity Delays
• Negative Sentiment: The company is offering voluntary buyouts to roughly 60,000 employees while spending heavily on data centers. Although the effort could improve long-term efficiency, investors may view it as evidence that Microsoft is managing mounting AI-related costs. Rising interest rates also pose a valuation risk for the high-growth technology sector.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company’s principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.