Truist Financial Lowers Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target to $575.00

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $675.00 to $575.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the software giant’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 38.75% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $545.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. President Capital raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $556.15.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of MSFT opened at $414.41 on Thursday. Microsoft has a one year low of $356.28 and a one year high of $555.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $395.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $448.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft will post 16.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth 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 in the first quarter valued at $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% in the third 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 valued at $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second 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. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results and the earnings call highlighted 40%+ Azure/cloud growth and accelerating AI monetization, giving investors confidence in the company’s long-term AI revenue runway. Microsoft Earnings Call: AI Growth Surges, Margins Squeezed
• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Pentagon signed agreements allowing Microsoft’s AI tech on classified networks — a credibility and contract win that can translate into long-term, high‑value government revenue. Pentagon inks deals with Nvidia, Microsoft and AWS to deploy AI on classified networks
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst actions include several price‑target raises and reaffirmations (Benchmark raised to $525, others keep buy ratings), signaling continued bullish conviction among some buy‑side firms. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Price Target Increased to $525 by Benchmark
• Positive Sentiment: Product catalyst: rollout of Windows 11’s new Xbox Mode supports consumer engagement and adds a near‑term, tangible product story for the stock. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Jumps on Windows 11 Xbox Mode Rollout
• Neutral Sentiment: The revised Microsoft–OpenAI relationship (ending exclusivity) is being parsed by markets: it reduces some exclusivity upside but clarifies commercial terms that could be neutral-to-positive longer term depending on monetization. Microsoft and OpenAI Just Ended Their Exclusive Deal, and Wall Street Is Trying Hard to Shake Off the Negatives for MSFT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from TV/hosts (e.g., Jim Cramer) describes MSFT as attractively valued but notes limited new messaging on the call — this shapes retail sentiment but isn’t new fundamental data. Jim Cramer on Microsoft: “Maybe You Can Consider It Cheap, But It’s Software”
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on record capex (roughly $190B guidance) and the near‑term hit to free cash flow — that spending narrative caused the post‑earnings pullback and continues to cap the multiple. Beat meets bill: MSFT stock slips on AI expenditure concerns despite strong Q3
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman’s note flagging extreme cloud cash burn and other outlets highlighting the industry’s rising AI capex raises concern that spending could pressure margins and returns if monetization lags. Microsoft, Amazon On Watch ― Goldman Sounds Alarm On 90% Cloud Cash Burn
• Negative Sentiment: Some brokers trimmed price targets or cut upside on valuation as they bake in capex risk (HSBC cut its target), keeping a portion of the market cautious. HSBC Cuts Microsoft Price Target to $571 From $593

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).