Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Rating Raised to “Moderate Buy” at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) from a strong sell rating to a moderate buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on MSFT. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $522.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $570.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research 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-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $599.98.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $531.01 on Tuesday. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $551.15. The company has a market cap of $3.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $511.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $437.96.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.71 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft will post 19.66 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 have 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $85,604,000 after buying an additional 8,773 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,652,000. Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,641,000. GTS Securities LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 44.6% in the 2nd quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 271,597 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $101,311,000 after acquiring an additional 83,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Henson Edgewater Management LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,430,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft exceeded expectations with quarterly revenue of $92.28 billion and earnings of $4.89 per share, compared with consensus estimates of $90.62 billion and $4.71, respectively. Revenue increased 18.8% year over year. Microsoft Beats Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Azure revenue rose 48% to approximately $33.2 billion, helping Microsoft Cloud revenue reach $63.9 billion, up 30%. Foundry revenue more than tripled, while commercial arrangements with OpenAI generated about $10 billion during the quarter. Microsoft Azure Revenue Surges 48%
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft generated $18.6 billion in free cash flow, reinforcing the view that it can fund its AI buildout while still producing cash. Bank of America analyst Tal Liani reiterated a Buy rating and raised his price target to $630, citing accelerating Azure and AI momentum. Bank of America Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is positioning itself as the governance and security layer for enterprise AI agents. OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta’s Muse are reportedly adopting its agent-containment tools, potentially strengthening Microsoft’s ecosystem and future monetization opportunities. Microsoft’s AI Agent Governance Strategy
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft reduced its 2026 capital-expenditure forecast to $170 billion from $175 billion, citing delays in third-party data-center capacity. While investors view the lower spending as a sign of discipline, it also raises questions about whether infrastructure constraints could limit Azure growth and pressure AI suppliers. Microsoft Cuts Capital Expenditure Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s voluntary buyout offer covering roughly 60,000 employees has intensified scrutiny of workforce reductions and the costs of reallocating resources toward AI. The move may improve efficiency, but it creates reputational and execution risks. Microsoft Buyout Offers Draw Criticism

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.