Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) dropped 1.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $381.33 and last traded at $383.34. 24,775,102 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 37,825,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $388.84.
Microsoft News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to argue that Microsoft’s AI and Azure investments are producing real demand, with one Wall Street strategist saying new data centers are effectively “pre-sold,” suggesting Microsoft’s AI buildout is still supported by customer appetite. Top Wall Street Analyst Says AI Spending Is Delivering Real Returns
- Positive Sentiment: Argus lowered its price target on Microsoft, but kept a Buy rating and still sees roughly 32% upside, signaling that at least some analysts think the recent weakness is a buying opportunity. MSFT price target cut article
- Positive Sentiment: Reports say Microsoft is expanding into edge AI processing and launching new AI-focused initiatives, reinforcing the view that the company remains deeply embedded in the AI race and is broadening its product strategy beyond OpenAI dependence. Here’s How Microsoft (MSFT) Is Entering The Edge AI Processing Arena
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s recent partnerships and enterprise wins, including a five-year AI deployment deal with Haleon and Microsoft Fabric/Power BI integrations with other companies, show the company is still landing real-world commercial AI adoption. Haleon Signs a Five-Year Agreement With Microsoft
- Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s role in a new Federal Reserve AI-and-jobs task force, along with Brad Smith’s comments on the need for clearer AI rules, keeps the company visible in policy debates but does not directly change fundamentals. The Fed just named Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to serve on a task force on jobs
- Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing a growing securities class action over alleged AI/Copilot misrepresentations, and multiple law firms are now reminding investors of the August deadline, adding legal uncertainty and potential distraction. MSFT Investors Have Opportunity to Lead Microsoft Corporation Securities Fraud Lawsuit
- Negative Sentiment: Starbucks’ move to build internal AI tools to replace Microsoft software highlights a broader risk for Microsoft: large enterprise customers may increasingly use AI to cut software spending and reduce reliance on legacy vendors. Starbucks Builds Sovereign AI to Cut $400 Million in Software Costs
- Negative Sentiment: News that Microsoft is replacing some OpenAI and Anthropic models with in-house AI in products like Excel and Outlook, while strategically positive for margins, also reinforces worries about AI product execution and the company’s Copilot-related messaging. Microsoft in the Spotlight After Reports Show Company Is Swapping Out Anthropic, OpenAI for In-House AI
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts have commented on MSFT shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $570.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.84.
Microsoft Stock Up 0.1%
The company’s 50-day moving average price is $403.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $414.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for 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 revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. 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 presently 21.67%.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
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).
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