1,704 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Bought by Presper Financial Architects LLC

Key Points

• Presper Financial Architects initiated a Microsoft position by purchasing 1,704 shares valued at approximately $635,000. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft’s outstanding stock.
• Microsoft’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with adjusted earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $581.80.
• Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $3.92 and a 0.7% yield. Meanwhile, insiders have sold 143,009 shares worth approximately $71.4 million over the past 90 days.

Presper Financial Architects LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,704 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $635,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 0.3% of Presper Financial Architects LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after buying an additional 9,814,598 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,852,884,000 after buying an additional 2,784,809 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,715,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after acquiring an additional 9,493,778 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore upgraded Microsoft from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 target price on Microsoft in a report on Monday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 5th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Microsoft from $522.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $581.80.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $543.45 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $503.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $437.50.

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. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 strengthens Microsoft’s AI strategy. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Maia 300 custom AI processor, which it says can deliver approximately 40% more AI-generated tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU-based systems. The company plans multi-gigawatt deployments beginning in 2027, potentially lowering inference costs, improving Azure margins and reducing reliance on Nvidia and AMD. Microsoft Reveals Next-Gen Maia 300 Custom AI Chip For Widespread Deployment
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure demand remains exceptionally strong. Microsoft reportedly signed more than $130 billion in data-center leases during the quarter, signaling aggressive capacity expansion to meet demand for Azure and AI services. Management has also indicated that demand continues to exceed available capacity, while its commercial backlog has reached a record level. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is supportive ahead of earnings. Barclays raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $512 and expects greater differentiation in software results. Microsoft is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter 2027 results on October 28, with consensus estimates of approximately $4.72 in earnings per share and $90.4 billion in revenue. Microsoft price target raised to $600 from $512 at Barclays
• Positive Sentiment: New AI products broaden Microsoft’s growth opportunities. The Decision-1 model is described as faster and cheaper to operate than competing systems, while new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop devices add AI features, 5G connectivity and improved battery efficiency.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are weighing AI growth against spending. The Maia rollout could improve long-term economics, but Microsoft is committing substantial capital to data centers and chips. Analysts are monitoring whether shrinking free cash flow and high infrastructure costs offset Azure and Copilot growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and execution risks remain. Microsoft is conducting another round of layoffs in Israel, its research chief Peter Lee is leaving for Mercedes’ Formula 1 team, and Norway fined subsidiary Xandr €8.6 million over Grindr data sharing. Nadella and President Brad Smith are also calling for stronger AI safeguards, highlighting potential compliance costs and liability risks.

About Microsoft

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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