20,350 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Acquired by Advisors Preferred LLC

Key Points

• Advisors Preferred LLC acquired 20,350 Microsoft shares worth approximately $7.95 million in the second quarter, making Microsoft about 1.2% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the company.
• Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, surpassing analyst estimates, while revenue grew 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, or $3.92 annually.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 42 Buy ratings and an average price target of $581.80; however, insiders sold more than $71 million of stock over the past 90 days, including sales by CEO Satya Nadella and EVP Takeshi Numoto.

Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 20,350 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $7,946,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.2% of Advisors Preferred LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Frankly Finances LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $60,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $101,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $503.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $437.50. The stock has a market cap of $4.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS 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 issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup raised Microsoft from a "market outperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $581.80.

Key Stories Impacting 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by 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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