16,535 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Purchased by Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors purchased 16,535 Microsoft shares worth approximately $6.17 million, making Microsoft 1.9% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the stock.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations, with revenue up 17.7% year over year. Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $578.73.
• Microsoft’s shares recently traded near record highs, supported by optimism around its AI and cloud businesses, while the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98. Key risks include insider selling, uncertainty surrounding its green-card sponsorship program and an antitrust investigation into its gaming operations.

Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,535 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $6,168,000. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.9% of Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Microsoft by 30.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,426,862,000 after buying an additional 9,814,598 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Microsoft by 10.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,852,884,000 after buying an additional 2,784,809 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,982,083,000 after buying an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,715,379,000 after buying an additional 1,599,412 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft News Roundup

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $535.07 on Monday. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $501.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $435.10. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders 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 an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft 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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