Recent Research Analysts’ Ratings Changes for Microsoft (MSFT)

Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) in the last few weeks:

• 10/21/2026 – Microsoft had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Guggenheim. They now have a $586.00 price target on the stock.
• 10/20/2026 – Microsoft had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by Piper Sandler.
• 10/20/2026 – Microsoft had its price target raised by BMO Capital Markets from $515.00 to $600.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 10/19/2026 – Microsoft had its price target raised by Sanford C. Bernstein from $660.00 to $662.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 10/15/2026 – Microsoft had its price target raised by Mizuho from $510.00 to $600.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 10/15/2026 – Microsoft had its price target raised by Citigroup Inc. from $600.00 to $636.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 10/15/2026 – Microsoft had its price target raised by UBS Group AG from $525.00 to $675.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 10/15/2026 – Microsoft had its price target raised by TD Cowen from $540.00 to $625.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 10/14/2026 – Microsoft had its price target raised by Jefferies Financial Group Inc. from $575.00 to $650.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 10/13/2026 – Microsoft had its price target raised by Barclays PLC from $512.00 to $600.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 10/12/2026 – Microsoft had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft. They now have a $600.00 price target on the stock.
• 10/12/2026 – Microsoft was downgraded by Phillip Securities from “moderate buy” to “hold”.
• 10/8/2026 – Microsoft was upgraded by Weiss Ratings from “hold (c+)” to “buy (b-)”.
• 10/5/2026 – Microsoft had its price target raised by Scotiabank from $510.00 to $615.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 10/5/2026 – Microsoft was downgraded by BNP Paribas Exane from “strong-buy” to “hold”.
• 10/5/2026 – Microsoft was upgraded by Evercore Inc from “underperform” to “outperform”.
• 10/5/2026 – Microsoft is now covered by William Blair. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 10/5/2026 – Microsoft is now covered by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.. They set a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 10/5/2026 – Microsoft was upgraded by Citigroup Inc. from “market outperform” to “buy”.
• 10/5/2026 – Microsoft was downgraded by Morgan Stanley from “overweight” to “negative”.
• 10/5/2026 – Microsoft is now covered by BMO Capital Markets. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 10/5/2026 – Microsoft was downgraded by UBS Group AG from “buy” to “market perform”.
• 10/5/2026 – Microsoft was given a new $665.00 price target by Melius Research. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 10/5/2026 – Microsoft is now covered by Yorkville Ives. They set an “outperform” rating and a $615.00 price target on the stock.
• 10/5/2026 – Microsoft was upgraded by Melius Research from “hold” to “buy”. They now have a $665.00 price target on the stock.
• 10/1/2026 – Microsoft had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $700.00 to $725.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 9/30/2026 – Microsoft had its price target raised by Piper Sandler from $550.00 to $610.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 9/28/2026 – Microsoft had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co..
• 9/23/2026 – Microsoft was downgraded by Wolfe Research from “outperform” to “hold”.
• 9/23/2026 – Microsoft is now covered by Needham & Company LLC. They set a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 9/23/2026 – Microsoft was downgraded by Raymond James Financial, Inc. from “moderate buy” to “strong sell”.
• 9/23/2026 – Microsoft is now covered by UBS Group AG. They set a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 9/22/2026 – Microsoft was upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from “hold” to “buy”. They now have a $575.00 price target on the stock, up from $530.00.
• 9/22/2026 – Microsoft had its price target raised by Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. from $515.00 to $570.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 9/21/2026 – Microsoft had its “market outperform” rating reaffirmed by Citigroup Inc..
• 9/21/2026 – Microsoft was given a new $440.00 price target by Rothschild & Co Redburn.
• 9/21/2026 – Microsoft had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Jefferies Financial Group Inc..
• 9/21/2026 – Microsoft had its price target raised by Cantor Fitzgerald from $522.00 to $608.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 9/15/2026 – Microsoft had its “market outperform” rating reaffirmed by Citizens Jmp. They now have a $550.00 price target on the stock.
• 9/10/2026 – Microsoft had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by Royal Bank Of Canada.
• 9/4/2026 – Microsoft had its price target raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $450.00 to $530.00. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock.
• 9/3/2026 – Microsoft had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by KeyCorp.
• 9/1/2026 – Microsoft had its price target raised by Bank of America Corporation from $500.00 to $600.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 8/31/2026 – Microsoft had its “market outperform” rating reaffirmed by Citigroup Inc..
• 8/27/2026 – Microsoft was upgraded by Weiss Ratings from “hold (c)” to “hold (c+)”.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.