Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 1.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares traded down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after TD Cowen lowered their price target on the stock from $655.00 to $625.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Microsoft traded as low as $449.28 and last traded at $454.52. 25,972,721 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 4% from the average session volume of 24,977,225 shares. The stock had previously closed at $459.86.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim set a $675.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. HSBC increased their target price on Microsoft from $643.00 to $648.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $500.00 price target (down from $560.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $700.00 to $665.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Melius Research increased their price objective on Microsoft from $595.00 to $625.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $629.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 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 company insiders.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bristol Myers Squibb partners with Microsoft to deploy AI imaging tools to accelerate early lung‑cancer detection — strengthens MSFT’s healthcare AI revenue pipeline and commercial credibility. Bristol Myers partners with Microsoft for AI-driven lung cancer detection
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI (Microsoft‑backed) reportedly hit ~$20B revenue in 2025 — a direct upside to Microsoft’s AI exposure through cloud compute, licensing and partnership arrangements. Microsoft‑Backed OpenAI Hits $20B Revenue Target in 2025
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is pushing to cut data‑center energy use and Nadella warns energy costs will decide the AI race — could reduce future operating/AI infra costs and support margins if successfully executed. Microsoft Wants to Lower Data Center Energy Use. Does That Help the Bull Case for MSFT Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen trimmed its price target (from $655 to $625) but kept a Buy — signals continued long‑term conviction but acknowledges nearer‑term valuation/nearterm risk. TD Cowen adjusts price target on Microsoft to $625 from $655, maintains buy rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft Marketplace gains incremental ecosystem wins (Cobalt Teams integration)—small revenue/engagement boost but limited immediate stock impact. Cobalt Microsoft® Teams® Integration Now Available in the Microsoft Marketplace®
• Neutral Sentiment: Jan. 28 earnings is the next major catalyst — investors will focus on Azure growth, AI-related capex and guidance. Dear Microsoft Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for January 28
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Azure cloud growth and forward guidance fell short of expectations have pressured the stock — investors are sensitive to any signs of decelerating cloud revenue or rising AI‑related costs. Microsoft (MSFT) Traded Lower as Its Reported Azure Cloud Growth and Forward Guidance Fell Short of Expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft researchers published a list of jobs most exposed to AI, and related headlines have contributed to short‑term investor and public sentiment concerns — this helped headlines driving intraday weakness. Microsoft researchers have revealed the 40 jobs most exposed to AI—and even teachers make the list
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market/geo‑political headlines and a tech sector selloff (Magnificent Seven weakness) amplified pressure on MSFT today — macro risk is dragging even well‑funded AI leaders. America’s Biggest Tech Stocks Lead Tuesday’s Selloff as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Rattles Markets

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 410.4% in the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.2%

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $481.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $502.15. The company has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

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).