1,281 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Purchased by Pacific Wealth Management

Key Points

• Pacific Wealth Management purchased 1,281 Microsoft shares worth approximately $478,000, making Microsoft its 10th-largest holding and about 0.2% of its portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 71.13%, with several investment firms increasing their Microsoft positions during the second quarter.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $4.74 in EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.

Pacific Wealth Management purchased a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,281 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $478,000. Microsoft makes up about 0.2% of Pacific Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brightwater Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $991,000. Oxbow Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% during the second quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 62,543 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $23,330,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the second quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,477 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,043,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the second quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 790,104 shares of the software giant's stock worth $294,725,000 after purchasing an additional 5,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC now owns 6,331 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,361,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra
• Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program
• Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $535.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The stock's fifty day moving average is $501.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $434.73.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. CLSA reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 target price on Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $578.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft's productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.

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