Microsoft’s (MSFT) “Overweight” Rating Reiterated at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reissued their overweight rating on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $650.00 price target on the software giant’s stock, up from their previous price target of $610.00.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MSFT. Melius Research raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $665.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Evercore upgraded Microsoft from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Microsoft from $522.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.54.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.6%

Microsoft stock opened at $521.91 on Thursday. Microsoft has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $551.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $512.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $438.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The firm had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Microsoft will post 19.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 19.00%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 14,480 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,427,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Arrien Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arrien Investments Inc. now owns 895 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Jacksonville Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 5.7% during the third quarter. Jacksonville Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,280 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,708,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Sageworth Trust Co lifted its stake in Microsoft by 11.5% during the third quarter. Sageworth Trust Co now owns 2,907 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DeLarme Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 7.3% during the third quarter. DeLarme Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,111 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft delivered a strong fiscal first quarter, with revenue of $92.28 billion and EPS of $4.89, both above expectations. Azure revenue surged 48%, while Microsoft Cloud revenue rose 30%, reinforcing the view that AI demand is translating into meaningful cloud growth. Microsoft Earnings Expose a Growing Divide in the Magnificent 7 AI Trade
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued second-quarter revenue guidance of $96.0 billion to $97.1 billion, above the $95.7 billion consensus estimate. Analysts responded with multiple price-target increases, including targets of $630 to $680, and Wolfe Research upgraded the stock to “strong buy.”
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s strong cash generation and diversified enterprise business continue to distinguish it from rivals facing sharper cash-flow concerns. Analysts argue that Azure, Copilot, AI agents and Microsoft’s security products provide several ways to monetize AI. The expanded Estée Lauder partnership, which will extend Copilot to more than 14,000 employees, offers another example of enterprise adoption. Estée Lauder and Microsoft Strategic Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s voluntary exit offer for approximately 60,000 employees may improve productivity and redirect resources toward AI, but it also highlights a significant restructuring as the company shifts toward more automated, equipment-intensive operations. Microsoft’s 60,000-Person Buyout Offer
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Microsoft’s capital intensity. The company plans roughly $170 billion of AI-related capital spending, while also arranging a $25 billion bond sale—the first major U.S. debt offering since 2017—to fund its buildout. Rising borrowing costs increase scrutiny of future AI returns. Microsoft Plans to Raise $25 Billion in Debt
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly capital spending was below analyst expectations because third-party AI-chip and data-center capacity was delayed, pushing some capacity into the first half of 2027. While management described this as a supply issue rather than weaker demand, the miss hurt AI infrastructure suppliers and revived concerns about the pace of expansion.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s cloud gross margin is reportedly narrowing as chip, power, data-center and labor costs rise. With the Nasdaq 100 down sharply during October amid fears of an AI spending bubble, investors are demanding proof that Microsoft’s large backlog will convert into profitable cash flow—not merely future revenue.

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.