17,414 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Bought by AFT Forsyth & Company Inc.

Key Points

• AFT Forsyth & Company acquired 17,414 Microsoft shares worth approximately $6.5 million, making MSFT its sixth-largest holding and representing about 3.1% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue rose 17.7% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.
• Microsoft’s AI and Azure expansion remains a major growth driver, but rising infrastructure costs, questions about custom-chip savings, insider selling and potential U.K. regulatory action pose risks to margins and competitive advantages.

AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 17,414 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $6,496,000. Microsoft comprises about 3.1% of AFT Forsyth & Company Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $3,330,000. HMI Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $61,660,000. Lakewood Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,874,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $18,306,443,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,000,706,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Microsoft to remain the only major hyperscaler with positive free cash flow over the next year despite heavy AI investment. This reinforces confidence that the company can fund data-center expansion without substantial external financing. Microsoft Free Cash Flow Expected to Remain Positive
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement with NiSource for approximately 1,100 megawatts of power for an Indiana data-center campus beginning in 2028. Securing electricity supports future Azure capacity as grid constraints become a bottleneck for AI expansion. Microsoft Signs Power Deal With NiSource
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom Maia AI chips and reports that a new model achieved comparable or better performance than OpenAI’s system using a fraction of the computing power could eventually reduce reliance on expensive third-party GPUs and improve AI economics. Microsoft Wants to Make AI Cheaper
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization and capital expenditures ahead of earnings. Strong demand could support the shares, but the market wants evidence that revenue growth is translating into sustainable margins.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority is investigating Microsoft’s grip on business software and says Microsoft and Amazon Web Services may need to do more to address cloud-service barriers. Potential remedies could increase compliance costs or weaken customer-lock-in advantages. UK Regulator Targets Microsoft’s Business Software Grip
• Negative Sentiment: Questions remain over whether custom chips will deliver meaningful savings: AI infrastructure, power and data-center commitments are rising rapidly, while Microsoft is reportedly seeking substantial cost reductions in Azure. That creates concern about near-term free-cash-flow and margin pressure.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $529.05 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 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 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $505.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $441.16.

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 for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 28th. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. William Blair initiated coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Microsoft from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 21st. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $589.71.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation NASDAQ: MSFT is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company's principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.