Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Up 1.2% – Here’s Why

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares were up 1.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $374.15 and last traded at $373.02. 43,686,854 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 15% from the average daily volume of 37,899,133 shares. The stock had previously closed at $368.57.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched a new $2.5 billion AI deployment company, Frontier, to embed thousands of experts inside customer organizations and accelerate enterprise AI adoption. Reuters: Microsoft launches firm to help companies adopt AI with $2.5 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Haleon signed a five-year Microsoft partnership to expand use of Microsoft AI, cloud, and data tools, underscoring stronger enterprise demand for Microsoft’s AI stack. Barchart: Haleon Just Struck a Five-Year Deal With Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to argue Microsoft remains a leading long-term AI and cloud beneficiary, with some pointing to Azure’s growing strength versus AWS and attractive valuation after recent weakness. TipRanks: Microsoft (MSFT) Azure Widens Lead over AWS in Jefferies CIO Survey
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is also being mentioned in investor-rights notices and a securities class action, which may add headline noise but does not change fundamentals in the near term. PR Newswire: Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Shareholders Who Lost Money Have Opportunity to Lead Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft may cut thousands of jobs, including roles in sales, consulting, and Xbox, suggest ongoing cost pressure as the company funds heavy AI investment. Business Insider: Microsoft plans another round of job cuts, impacting thousands of roles
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage also highlights Microsoft’s premium valuation and lingering concerns about the payoff from its large AI spending, which could limit upside if execution slows. Zacks: Microsoft Trades at a Premium P/E: Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock Now?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, June 4th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $560.86.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.7%

The company has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $407.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $418.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The business 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 31.94%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Microsoft by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,060,557,000 after buying an additional 6,388,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,056,019,000 after buying an additional 1,911,142 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,624,690,000 after buying an additional 980,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).