20,474 Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Gateway Wealth Partners LLC

Key Points

• Gateway Wealth Partners reduced its Microsoft stake by 33.6%, selling 20,474 shares in the second quarter and retaining 40,443 shares valued at approximately $15.1 million.
• Microsoft continues to receive strong analyst support, with 43 Buy ratings, an average “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $569.29. Copilot, Azure growth, and enterprise AI adoption remain key catalysts, though privacy, competition, valuation, and AI-investment costs pose risks.
• Microsoft reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including $4.74 in earnings per share and $90.01 billion in revenue, while increasing its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share.

Gateway Wealth Partners LLC lessened its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 33.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,443 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 20,474 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 0.9% of Gateway Wealth Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th 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 during the period. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,426,862,000 after purchasing an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,852,884,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784,809 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,300,410 shares of the software giant's stock worth $12,235,785,000 after buying an additional 458,014 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, 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, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $569.29.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Copilot remains the primary catalyst. Jefferies reiterated its bullish view, citing Microsoft’s redesigned Copilot, new usage-based revenue opportunities and potential for paid Copilot seats to double over the next year. Enterprise AI adoption, however, is expected to build gradually. Jefferies Doubles Down on Microsoft's Copilot Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see further upside. JPMorgan maintained a Buy rating with a $625 target, while RBC reportedly set a $640 target, supported by Azure growth, Copilot adoption and Microsoft’s expanding AI infrastructure. The stock is also on track for its strongest quarterly performance in decades, reflecting a market “flight to quality.” Microsoft Stock Surges Past $500
• Positive Sentiment: Azure and enterprise demand support the long-term case. Recent commentary points to Azure growth above 40%, rapidly increasing Copilot seats and a commercial backlog approaching $700 billion. Microsoft is also bringing OpenAI’s autonomous “Dots” AI workers into its enterprise security ecosystem, potentially expanding cloud and software consumption. Microsoft Brings OpenAI's Autonomous Dots AI Workers Into the Enterprise
• Neutral Sentiment: AI policy developments remain mixed. President Trump reaffirmed support for data centers and announced voluntary AI controls with Microsoft and other technology companies, potentially easing regulatory concerns while leaving uncertainty over whether voluntary safeguards will be sufficient. At A.I. Event, Trump Asks Meta, OpenAI and Microsoft to Make Safety Decisions Themselves
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy and competitive risks are weighing on sentiment. Reports that humans may review some Copilot prompts have raised data-privacy concerns. OpenAI is also launching workplace features that increasingly resemble Microsoft Office, intensifying the risk that a key partner could compete directly with Microsoft’s software franchise. OpenAI Takes on Microsoft With a ChatGPT Office Suite
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are questioning the cost and valuation of the AI buildout. Microsoft is reducing staff while committing heavily to data centers, and some analysts argue that cash-flow benefits may take longer to materialize. After its rally, elevated expectations leave less room for execution setbacks.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $508.96 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $482.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $427.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

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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