Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Up 1.7% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $517.78 and last traded at $513.53. 29,598,583 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 36,658,574 shares. The stock had previously closed at $505.06.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly in early discussions with China-based Moonshot AI about its Kimi K3 model. A potential Azure partnership or revenue-sharing arrangement could add another AI product and growth catalyst to Microsoft’s cloud platform. MSFT Stock Alert: Moonshot Could Give Microsoft Another AI Revenue Stream
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s AI infrastructure expansion remains a key focus. The company is expected to spend approximately $175 billion on AI this year, while a planned 50-megawatt data-center deployment using NVIDIA GB300 systems and reported work with IREN underscore demand for Azure capacity. ChronoScale and Microsoft plan 50 MW AI compute deployment with NVIDIA GB300 systems
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighted Azure’s roughly 43% year-over-year expansion, Copilot’s reported 30 million paid users, a $678 billion contracted backlog and Azure revenue surpassing $100 billion. These indicators support expectations for continued cloud growth and backlog conversion. Prediction: Microsoft Could Be the Next $5 Trillion Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Technical momentum also improved: Microsoft moved above a new buy point and recently formed a “golden cross,” with its 50-day moving average rising above the 200-day average. Strong NVIDIA results and broader enthusiasm for AI stocks provided an additional market tailwind. Microsoft Just Flashed Golden Cross Signal
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft joined more than 100 technology companies in a cybersecurity initiative warning that AI could accelerate cyber threats. The pledge may strengthen Microsoft’s security and cloud opportunity, but it also includes commitments for funding, training and broader access. Tech giants warn time is running out to prepare for AI threats
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts argue that Microsoft’s recent rerating and roughly 14% one-month rally may have largely run its course, raising valuation and profit-taking concerns. Reported open-market insider activity has also consisted entirely of sales over the past six months. Microsoft: The Rerating Is Probably Over For Now

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. China Renaissance dropped their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, President Capital increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.27.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.7%

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $428.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $411.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $3.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’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 value of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its position 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 raised its position in Microsoft by 4.9% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,272 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pollock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

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).