Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 1.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded down 1.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Weiss Ratings downgraded the stock from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating. The stock traded as low as $365.19 and last traded at $365.97. 36,488,720 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 36,228,168 shares. The stock had previously closed at $371.04.

MSFT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $588.97.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reinstated a bullish view and sees meaningful upside, signalling some Wall Street investors still view MSFT as a long‑term AI/cloud leader. Bank of America Sees 30% Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft opened a new Azure datacenter region in Denmark, supporting Azure growth, local customers and data‑residency demand. Infrastructure additions support revenue durability for the cloud business. Microsoft Opens New Datacenter Region In Denmark
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is partnering on workforce AI training and other ecosystem initiatives, which help drive adoption of Microsoft 365, Azure and LinkedIn learning services over time. Workforce AI Skills Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors and funds are positioning around MSFT via ETFs and new products (e.g., JUDO) and unusual options flows — sign that some traders are looking for a rebound even as fundamentals are debated. JUDO ETF Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage remains mixed: some analysts still see large upside while others are pulling back price targets pending clearer Copilot/M365 traction — this creates volatility and wider trading ranges. Price Target Lowered on M365, Copilot Questions
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say Copilot adoption is lagging expectations, a key catalyst the market had priced in; headlines about a ~32% decline from the peak spotlight investor disappointment and trigger selling. Copilot Adoption Lags — Blockonomi
• Negative Sentiment: UBS and other outlets cut or trimmed price targets and flagged that Microsoft 365 / Copilot narratives need improvement for the stock to re‑rate; lowered targets tighten near‑term upside. UBS Cuts PT / Barron’s
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reports a hiring freeze across major cloud and North America sales groups — a sign management is pulling back amid demand/efficiency concerns, which investors often read as evidence of near‑term revenue or margin pressure. Microsoft Freezes Hiring — Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI flagged its dependence on Microsoft as a risk and MSFT faces scrutiny over guidance, capex intensity (data center buildout) and a weak near‑term outlook — all contributors to the recent sell‑off. OpenAI Flags Microsoft Dependence

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 500.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $413.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $469.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.72 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.89, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

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).