MSH Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 23,508 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $8,769,000. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.5% of MSH Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.
A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Puzo Michael J bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $14,341,000. Latash Investments LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $1,720,000. NWK Group Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $10,907,000. Quartz Partners LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $913,000. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $2,737,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.
Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 AI chip is the key catalyst. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Maia 300 processor and plans to begin production deployments in 2027, eventually scaling the platform to multiple gigawatts and potentially as many as one million chips. The company says Maia 300 can deliver approximately 40% more AI-generated tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU-based systems, which could lower Azure costs and improve margins. Microsoft reveals Maia 300 AI chip
- Positive Sentiment: Greater control over AI supply and economics. Microsoft intends to make Maia a primary architecture for AI inference while continuing to use chips from Nvidia, AMD and Intel. Investors viewed the strategy as a way to reduce dependence on expensive, supply-constrained Nvidia hardware and strengthen Azure’s competitive position. Microsoft to rely more on homegrown AI chips
- Positive Sentiment: Underlying growth remains strong. Recent coverage points to Azure growth guidance of 44%–45%, rising Copilot adoption, a record backlog and more than $50 billion in quarterly capital spending to meet AI demand. These trends reinforce the bullish long-term case, although the October 28 earnings report will test whether growth remains above investor expectations.
- Neutral Sentiment: AI safety and infrastructure constraints remain in focus. CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith called for stronger safeguards, emergency controls and clearer AI regulation. Separately, industry leaders highlighted electricity and cooling capacity as potential limits on AI expansion. These issues may increase compliance and infrastructure costs but could also benefit Microsoft’s enterprise-focused approach.
- Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks increased. The U.S. suspended Microsoft from the PERM green-card program amid scrutiny of its H-1B hiring practices, potentially complicating access to technical talent. Norway also fined Microsoft subsidiary Xandr approximately €8.6 million for sharing Grindr user data. Microsoft PERM suspension
- Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks persist. Some analysts downgraded Microsoft amid concerns about elevated AI capital spending, high expectations and the need for Azure growth to remain above 40%. The departure of longtime science president Peter Lee is an additional, though relatively minor, leadership concern.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Microsoft from an "overweight" rating to a "negative" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $579.84.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT
Microsoft Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $541.15 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $502.22 and its 200-day moving average is $436.28. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 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 released its 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. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.
Microsoft Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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