Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Up 2.8% – Time to Buy?

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares traded up 2.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $398.96 and last traded at $395.63. 35,847,445 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 37,525,879 shares. The stock had previously closed at $384.93.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remained broadly constructive on Microsoft ahead of earnings, with Evercore ISI reportedly raising its price target, while Citi and Wells Fargo trimmed targets but kept bullish ratings. The mixed actions still reinforced confidence in MSFT’s long-term AI and cloud growth story. Article: Microsoft stock is rising 3% on Wednesday: here’s why
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and 3M announced a strategic partnership to advance AI data center infrastructure and enterprise transformation, underscoring continued demand for Azure-related buildout and AI infrastructure spending. Article: 3M and Microsoft announce strategic partnership to advance AI data center infrastructure and enterprise transformation
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also won attention for launching a $2.5 billion customer deployment initiative through Microsoft Frontier, aimed at helping enterprise clients deploy AI systems around their own data and workflows, which could deepen monetization of its AI platform. Article: How Microsoft (MSFT) Is Deepening Its Enterprise AI Moat With a $2.5 Billion Customer Deployment Initiative
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators highlighted Microsoft’s strong AI and cloud positioning, with some noting that the stock may be undervalued relative to its growth prospects heading into earnings. Article: Prediction: Microsoft Stock Will Skyrocket After July 29
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft patched a record number of security vulnerabilities, including issues across Windows and Office. While the rapid patching can be viewed positively from a security standpoint, the sheer volume of flaws also keeps attention on product security risks. Article: Microsoft patches record number of security vulnerabilities, citing its use of AI
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing class-action lawsuits tied to alleged Copilot and AI-related misstatements remain an overhang, adding legal uncertainty even though these filings are not new operating news. Article: MSFT Investor Loss Alert: Microsoft Investors may have been Misled after Copilot Issues Lead to 10% Stock Drop
• Negative Sentiment: Recent Xbox layoffs and broader restructuring headlines continue to weigh on sentiment around Microsoft’s gaming division, though the market appears to be looking past those cuts for now. Article: Industry Expert Claims Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox Layoffs Include ‘Hidden Cuts’

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $570.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Microsoft to a “buy” rating and set a $485.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $570.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $557.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $401.47 and a 200-day moving average of $412.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $2,616,000. PMG Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $828,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management grew its stake in Microsoft by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,041,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 2,332.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,746,017 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,262,509,000 after buying an additional 6,468,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $131,750,000 after buying an additional 49,371 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).