Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 1.4% – Time to Sell?

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price was down 1.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $465.95 and last traded at $470.67. Approximately 27,643,275 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 18% from the average daily volume of 23,398,992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $477.18.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs initiated high-conviction coverage on Microsoft (Buy, $655 PT), reiterating Microsoft’s advantaged position in the AI stack (Azure, Copilot) and long-term EPS upside — this bolsters the bull case for MSFT. Goldman Thinks Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Is Being Underestimated
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial demand lift: partners and customers continue to build on Microsoft Foundry and Azure (e.g., SymphonyAI launching agentic merchandising and CPG apps powered by Microsoft platforms), which supports Azure revenue growth and stickier cloud contracts. SymphonyAI Launches Next-Generation CINDE Merchandising Agents
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled a “Community‑First AI Infrastructure” plan — pledging to cover grid upgrades, replenish water, and pay full local taxes. This reduces regulatory/community risk but may increase near-term capital and operating costs; the net financial impact is uncertain. Microsoft launches data center initiative to limit power costs, water use
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: investors sold MSFT after the pledge to absorb data-center energy costs amid concerns the move could pressure margins and raise near-term cash outflows — analysts and headlines flagged the potential earnings impact. Microsoft Stock Slumps as Company Vows to Cover Full AI Data Center Power Costs
• Negative Sentiment: Macro headwinds: rising interest‑rate/discernible Fed path uncertainty is triggering a growth-to-value rotation that disproportionately hurts large-cap tech names like Microsoft; that dynamic is aggravating the sell‑off even as fundamentals remain intact. Tech Wreck or Valuation Reset? Rotating to Value in 2026

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $632.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Microsoft to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $560.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $630.37.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $487.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $503.65.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.89%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).