Key Points
- CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 Microsoft shares for approximately $43.4 million at an average price of $501.46. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and reduced his holdings by 15.09%.
- Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with $4.74 in adjusted earnings per share and $90.01 billion in revenue, exceeding analyst expectations; revenue rose 17.7% year over year.
- Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $562.49. Microsoft also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, representing a 0.7% yield.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Microsoft Price Performance
Shares of MSFT opened at $496.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $438.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $414.45.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $562.49.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft
More Microsoft News
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft will begin disclosing quarterly Azure revenue in fiscal 2027 and consolidate its reporting structure from three segments to two. The added transparency should allow investors to compare Azure more directly with Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud and could highlight the scale of AI-driven demand. Microsoft to reveal Azure cloud sales in financial reporting shift
- Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $500, citing accelerating Azure growth, improving AI efficiency and more than 30 million paid Microsoft 365 Copilot seats. The bullish view reinforces expectations that Microsoft can convert AI infrastructure spending into higher revenue and earnings. Microsoft's AI strategy accelerates cloud growth and efficiency: analysts
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding its AI ecosystem through a 20-year power agreement supporting a planned West Texas data center, a HUMAIN partnership targeting up to one million enterprise users in the Middle East and Africa, and new Microsoft 365 Copilot integrations. These agreements support long-term cloud, infrastructure and productivity growth, although near-term profitability depends on execution. Microsoft Signed a 20-Year AI Power Deal With Chevron
- Neutral Sentiment: An EU court rejected Opera’s challenge to Microsoft Edge’s exemption from certain Digital Markets Act obligations. The ruling reduces an immediate regulatory burden for Edge, but its direct financial effect is likely limited. EU court rejects Opera challenge against Microsoft's Edge exemption
- Negative Sentiment: CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 MSFT shares worth approximately $43.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Although scheduled sales generally do not signal a change in business outlook, the transaction reduced his position by 15.09%; broader insider activity has also consisted entirely of sales over the past six months. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Form 4 filing
- Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Microsoft’s roughly $116 billion in annual property and equipment spending. The AI buildout could drive substantial growth, but depreciation, power constraints and uncertain returns may pressure margins if demand fails to keep pace. Big Tech Spent Over $1 Trillion on AI
- Negative Sentiment: Additional pressure came from reports of a controversial Windows 11 feature, continuing concerns about a Microsoft 365 outage, and criticism surrounding 3,200 Xbox job cuts. These issues may weigh on user sentiment and highlight risks in Microsoft’s consumer and gaming businesses. Xbox layoffs
Institutional Trading of Microsoft
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $50,664,631,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,338,370,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth $18,733,827,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.
Microsoft Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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).
See Also
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
