Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 1.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shot up 1.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $478.74 and last traded at $478.51. 22,958,700 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 24,585,184 shares. The stock had previously closed at $472.85.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Broad market tailwind — Tech-led gains pushed major U.S. indexes to records, with Microsoft among the leaders benefiting from the risk-on move. How major US stock indexes fared Tuesday, 1/6/2026
• Positive Sentiment: Grid modernization win — Microsoft agreed to work with the Midcontinent Independent System Operator to modernize the U.S. Midwest power grid, highlighting Azure and AI demand tied to large-scale electrification and data-center power needs. This supports long-term infrastructure demand for Microsoft cloud services. Microsoft works with major US electric grid operator to modernize the Midwest power system
• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition accelerates data engineering push — Microsoft acquired Osmos, a data-engineering startup, to bolster its autonomous data engineering capabilities that feed AI and analytics products, strengthening its competitive positioning in enterprise AI. Microsoft acquires data analytics Seattle startup Osmos
• Positive Sentiment: Marketplace partner expansion — Profitmind, an agentic AI decision-intelligence platform for retail, is now available in the Microsoft Marketplace, a smaller but incremental signal of ecosystem monetization for Azure and Dynamics customers. Profitmind Now Available in the Microsoft Marketplace
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and market conviction — High-profile bulls (e.g., Wedbush/Daniel Ives) and multiple recent buy/price-target upgrades underline expectations for an “inflection” year driven by Azure AI and enterprise adoption. That supportive analyst backdrop is lifting sentiment. Daniel Ives Pounds the Table on Nvidia and Microsoft Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Partner ecosystem activity — Microsoft-backed partner Photonic raised $131M for quantum initiatives, signalling continued ecosystem investment though not an immediate revenue driver for MSFT. Microsoft Partner Photonic Raises $131 Million for Quantum Push
• Negative Sentiment: Talent and competitive notes — A senior Microsoft lawyer moved to Meta (C.J. Mahoney), and ongoing public debate about AI competition with Google/other rivals keeps uncertainty in the headlines; plus recent insider sales and chatter about valuation could cap near-term upside. Meta hires Microsoft exec as chief legal officer

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. HSBC lifted their target price on Microsoft from $643.00 to $648.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Microsoft from $682.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $631.03.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $492.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $503.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $77.67 billion during 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%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.89%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,581 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,586,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. RDA Financial Network boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 31,056 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,019,000 after buying an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Collective Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 6,354 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,073,000 after buying an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Lpwm LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 35.5% in the fourth quarter. Lpwm LLC now owns 1,775 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $858,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulcrum Equity Management raised its stake in Microsoft by 272.4% during the fourth quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 3,568 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,726,000 after acquiring an additional 2,610 shares in 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).