Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Up 1.6% – What’s Next?

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price shot up 1.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $392.20 and last traded at $390.49. Approximately 40,718,585 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 7% from the average daily volume of 38,013,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $384.28.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched a new $2.5 billion AI deployment company, Frontier, to embed thousands of experts inside customer organizations and accelerate enterprise AI adoption. Reuters: Microsoft launches firm to help companies adopt AI with $2.5 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Haleon signed a five-year Microsoft partnership to expand use of Microsoft AI, cloud, and data tools, underscoring stronger enterprise demand for Microsoft’s AI stack. Barchart: Haleon Just Struck a Five-Year Deal With Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to argue Microsoft remains a leading long-term AI and cloud beneficiary, with some pointing to Azure’s growing strength versus AWS and attractive valuation after recent weakness. TipRanks: Microsoft (MSFT) Azure Widens Lead over AWS in Jefferies CIO Survey
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is also being mentioned in investor-rights notices and a securities class action, which may add headline noise but does not change fundamentals in the near term. PR Newswire: Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Shareholders Who Lost Money Have Opportunity to Lead Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft may cut thousands of jobs, including roles in sales, consulting, and Xbox, suggest ongoing cost pressure as the company funds heavy AI investment. Business Insider: Microsoft plans another round of job cuts, impacting thousands of roles
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage also highlights Microsoft’s premium valuation and lingering concerns about the payoff from its large AI spending, which could limit upside if execution slows. Zacks: Microsoft Trades at a Premium P/E: Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock Now?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Microsoft to a “buy” rating and set a $485.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $515.00 target price (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Finally, President Capital lifted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.86.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $407.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $418.67.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% during the third quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pollock Investment Advisors LLC raised its position 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 valued at $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).