Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Receives “Buy” Rating from Barclays

Barclays reissued their buy rating on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,MarketScreener reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on MSFT. Melius Research set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. TD Cowen raised shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $562.44.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $420.93 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $396.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $445.39.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired 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 owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BLVD Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the third quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,641,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the third quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,371,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. ARK & TLK Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,002,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% during the third quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Top analyst price‑target upgrades lift sentiment; one note cited ~60% upside to a new street‑high target, supporting buy interest. Microsoft Stock Lands a New Street‑High Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: An influential research shop lifted its price target materially (Arete to $870), signaling strong conviction that AI/cloud execution will drive long‑term upside. Arete Research Boosts Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results continue to show robust AI/cloud revenue growth and EPS beats, underpinning the bull case for durable top‑line momentum. Microsoft Q3 Revenues Jump 18% on AI & Cloud
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying: Fisher Asset Management and other funds have increased stakes, which can provide support to the stock. Fisher Asset Management Boosts Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox product pruning (Copilot discontinuation) trimmed consumer AI spend and was interpreted positively by some investors as discipline on unprofitable initiatives. Xbox Discontinues Copilot
• Neutral Sentiment: Street reaction is mixed: some firms trimmed targets but kept Buy ratings, reflecting split views on near‑term capex vs. long‑term AI growth. Here’s What the Street Thinks About Microsoft Post‑Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Big AI data‑center buildout is driving a large ($190B) capex guide and discussions about shelving Microsoft’s 2030 hourly clean‑energy match target — a potential ESG/regulatory and reputational headwind. Microsoft May Shelve 2030 Clean Energy Target
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain uneasy about the size and timing of AI spending; some analysts warn margin pressure and elevated capex could weigh on near‑term returns. Is Microsoft Stock an Undervalued Stock to Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Security concern: reports of a new hacker group exploiting Microsoft Teams add short‑term risk around remediation costs and customer confidence in collaboration tools. New Hacker Group Exploits Teams

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).