Microsoft’s (MSFT) Market Outperform Rating Reiterated at Citizens Jmp

Citizens Jmp restated their market outperform rating on shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $550.00 price objective on the software giant’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. CLSA reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $564.27.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $497.75 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $3.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.71, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $464.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $422.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. Research analysts predict that Microsoft will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Wellington Altus USA Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 63.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 5,716 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,213 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 3.7% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 105,520 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,361,000 after acquiring an additional 3,733 shares during the last quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.9% in the second quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 219,809 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $81,993,000 after purchasing an additional 19,760 shares in the last quarter. Revere Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $298,000. Finally, Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,820,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and cloud AI remain the main catalyst: Coverage highlights Azure’s more than $100 billion annual revenue milestone and 43% year-over-year growth, with agentic AI increasing demand for cloud compute. Microsoft’s Azure payment-security service also gives financial institutions a way to manage payment infrastructure in the cloud, although pricing and customer commitments were not disclosed. Microsoft Jumps as Azure Turns Payment Vaults Into a Service
• Positive Sentiment: Copilot’s enterprise reach is expanding: Causaly’s scientific research platform is now available within Microsoft Copilot and Teams, adding a specialized life-sciences workflow to Microsoft’s AI ecosystem. Microsoft Ventures is also backing ManticAI, a British startup developing AI systems for predicting global events. Causaly is Now Available in Microsoft Copilot
• Positive Sentiment: Cash returns and analyst support help sentiment: Microsoft’s 8% dividend increase to $0.98 per quarter reinforces confidence in cash generation despite heavy AI investment. Citizens JMP also reiterated a “Market Outperform” rating, supporting the bullish view. Citizens JMP Reiterates Market Outperform Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: AI strategy remains a valuation debate: Microsoft is promoting an internal AI-transformation playbook and continues to position agentic AI as a major growth opportunity. Investors must weigh that opportunity against rising data-center spending, execution risks and higher interest-rate sensitivity.
• Negative Sentiment: Copyright litigation risk has intensified: Newly unsealed court documents reportedly show Microsoft and OpenAI executives describing AI products as substitutes for journalism, while one Microsoft executive characterized AI scraping as “the largest theft of labor in human history.” News organizations argue the statements weaken the companies’ fair-use defense in the New York Times copyright case, potentially increasing legal costs, damages and regulatory scrutiny. OpenAI and Microsoft executives quotes on AI training

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.