Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $353.68 and last traded at $356.1720, with a volume of 17283339 shares. The stock had previously closed at $365.46.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to win new enterprise and ecosystem deals, including ICON plc naming it a preferred technology partner and multiple integrations with Microsoft 365 Copilot, which supports the bull case for AI-driven software demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s 20-year Chevron power agreement for its Texas data center could ease a major AI bottleneck by securing long-term energy capacity for Azure infrastructure and reducing execution risk.
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles point to strong analyst and investor support, with one report calling MSFT a “Strong Buy” and another arguing the stock looks oversold after a sharp pullback.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is also expanding its AI footprint beyond software through partnerships in education, workforce training, and regional AI development, which helps reinforce the company’s broader AI platform strategy.
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel cut its Microsoft price target to $400, warning that Azure’s rapid growth and heavy capital spending could compress cloud margins more than Wall Street expects.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal overhangs are adding pressure, including the EU’s preliminary move to label Azure a “gatekeeper” under the Digital Markets Act and new securities class-action headlines tied to Microsoft’s prior disclosures.
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment is also being hurt by concerns around Microsoft’s AI spending, quantum computing claims facing criticism, and commentary that the stock’s recent slump reflects doubts about the payoff from its infrastructure investments.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MSFT. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $502.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.86.

Microsoft Trading Down 3.1%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $411.93 and a 200 day moving average of $422.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Microsoft

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).