Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Up 2.7% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded up 2.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $515.65 and last traded at $510.12. 23,671,139 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 36,303,465 shares. The stock had previously closed at $496.82.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft will begin reporting Azure revenue separately each quarter in fiscal 2027 and consolidate its operations into two segments. Azure generated approximately $29.4 billion in quarterly revenue and $101.9 billion in fiscal 2026, giving investors a clearer comparison with Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud and better visibility into AI-driven growth. Microsoft to reveal Azure cloud sales in financial reporting shift
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Microsoft’s AI strategy. Bank of America raised its price target to $600 from $500, citing cloud growth, improving AI efficiency and expanding Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption. Citi also reiterated a Buy rating with a $600 target. Microsoft’s AI strategy accelerates cloud growth and efficiency: analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s reported $678 billion remaining performance obligation backlog, up 84% year over year, and Azure’s more than $100 billion annual revenue reinforce expectations for strong future cloud and AI demand. The key question is how much of that contracted revenue will convert into profit. Microsoft’s sales backlog and Azure revenue
• Neutral Sentiment: An EU court rejected Opera’s challenge to Microsoft Edge’s exemption from certain Digital Markets Act requirements. The decision removes a potential regulatory complication, although its near-term financial impact is likely limited. EU court rejects Opera challenge against Microsoft’s Edge exemption
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft will impose monthly time limits on Xbox cloud gaming for Game Pass subscribers beginning in November. The change reflects higher service costs and could reduce the appeal of Game Pass, even if it helps protect margins. Microsoft to impose time limits on Xbox cloud gaming subscribers
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to question Microsoft’s roughly $116 billion AI infrastructure spending and whether data-center, chip and electricity costs will generate sufficient returns. Declining cloud gross margins could amplify concerns about near-term profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares worth approximately $43.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The scheduled transaction is not necessarily a negative signal, but continued insider selling may weigh modestly on sentiment. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Form 4 filing

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $515.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 20th. CLSA reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Argus reduced their target price on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $562.49.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $438.84 and its 200 day moving average is $414.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 108,335 shares of company stock valued at $53,499,700 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montgomery Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).