Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Receives Buy Rating from DZ Bank

DZ Bank restated their buy rating on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a research report report published on Thursday morning,MarketScreener reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MSFT. Weiss Ratings downgraded Microsoft from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $525.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 9th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their price objective on Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $556.15.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.1%

MSFT traded up $4.30 during trading on Thursday, hitting $412.08. 8,339,032 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 35,566,785. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $395.28 and a 200 day moving average of $448.37. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. 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 reported a strong Q3: EPS beat and accelerating cloud/AI revenue (Azure ~40% growth; multi?billion AI run?rate), which validates MSFT’s monetization of AI demand and supports longer?term revenue upside. Microsoft cloud growth tops expectations
• Positive Sentiment: The Pentagon reached agreements with leading AI firms including Microsoft — a strategic win that can increase Azure/government workload and adds credibility to MSFT’s enterprise AI positioning. Pentagon?AI deals
• Positive Sentiment: Big hyperscaler AI spending (est. ~$700B for 2026) is a structural tailwind for cloud providers and data?center suppliers — Microsoft stands to benefit via Azure and ecosystem services. Hyperscalers AI spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street reactions are mixed — several firms lifted price targets on better AI/Cloud metrics while others trimmed targets over capex concerns; that divergence increases short?term volatility but keeps a consensus for material long?term upside. Analyst price target moves
• Neutral Sentiment: High covered?call ETF yields on MSFT (e.g., YieldMax’s offering) reflect elevated implied volatility and income strategies from option sellers — important for derivatives flow but not a direct signal on fundamentals. YieldMax covered?call ETF
• Negative Sentiment: Investors focused on Microsoft’s huge AI capex (near?term guide to ~ $190B) and a 49% jump in infrastructure spending — this pressures free cash flow and margins and was the primary reason the stock sold off after the earnings beat. CapEx concerns after earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: MSFT experienced a sharp post?earnings pullback (large market value wiped out in a day), reflecting investor skepticism that the AI investment cadence will convert to near?term free?cash?flow gains. Stock value wiped after earnings
• Negative Sentiment: The reset of the Microsoft–OpenAI relationship (end of exclusivity/amended deal) has created short?term uncertainty about future economics and competitive exposure, which is contributing to cautious analyst commentary. OpenAI exclusivity ended

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).