Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Receives $559.16 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and forty-two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $560.2667.

Several research firms recently commented on MSFT. Barclays dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. New Street Research lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target (up from $570.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Arete Research increased their price target on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $495.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $411.27 and a 200 day moving average of $408.50.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft will post 19.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to highlight Microsoft’s Azure expansion, accelerating Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption, and the company’s ability to sustain double-digit earnings growth. Microsoft’s latest quarter also exceeded expectations, with revenue of approximately $90 billion and earnings growth supported by Azure. Microsoft’s Cloud Gains Can Sustain Double-Digit Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Microsoft price target to $625, citing stronger Copilot demand and accelerating infrastructure investment. Other analysts remain bullish, with a six-month median target near $540, reinforcing investor confidence in Microsoft’s long-term AI positioning. JPMorgan Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is combining its consumer and enterprise Copilot applications into a unified platform, potentially improving distribution, user engagement, and monetization as it competes with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Microsoft Unifies Copilot Applications
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft approved the first AI data-center deployment under its $9.7 billion agreement with IREN, supporting Azure capacity expansion. The deal improves supply visibility but also underscores Microsoft’s substantial capital requirements. IREN Delivers First AI Cloud Deployment
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s roughly $175 billion AI infrastructure spending plan could pressure free cash flow and cloud margins. A reported decline in cloud gross margin and higher data-center, chip, electricity, and labor costs raise questions about how much of the company’s large AI backlog will translate into profit. Microsoft’s AI Backlog and Profitability Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft has closed at least 15 China offices and joint ventures add geopolitical and operational uncertainty, although Azure reportedly provides a profitable reason to retain a limited China presence. Microsoft Retreats in China

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 4.9% during the third quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,453,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Better Money Decisions LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,740,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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).