2,616 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Acquired by Fortress Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• Fortress Financial Group LLC acquired 2,616 Microsoft shares worth approximately $976,000 during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, surpassing analyst estimates, while revenue increased 17.7% year over year.
• Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share. Analysts remain broadly optimistic, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $589.71, though some firms have issued downgrades.

Fortress Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,616 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $976,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $27,676,000. Martin & Co. Inc. TN bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,583,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $144,146,000. Greenbrier Partners Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,181,000. Finally, WealthShield Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,847,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $539.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company's 50 day moving average is $504.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $439.96. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The company has a market cap of $4.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $675 from $525 and reiterated a Buy rating, citing accelerating Azure and Microsoft 365 growth driven by artificial intelligence. The firm believes Microsoft’s valuation remains reasonable despite its recent rally. UBS raises Microsoft price target
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Wall Street firms have lifted their targets, with analysts highlighting Azure momentum, approximately 30 million Copilot seats, Microsoft’s commercial backlog and the potential for a larger-than-usual earnings beat. The October 28 results will provide an important test of whether AI spending is translating into revenue and profit.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Maia 300 custom AI accelerator is expected to scale across Azure data centers and reportedly deliver more tokens per megawatt than conventional GPU systems. The chip could reduce inference costs and Microsoft’s dependence on Nvidia and AMD hardware. Microsoft Maia 300 AI chip
• Positive Sentiment: AI care-management company Tucuvi joined Microsoft’s Pegasus startup program, potentially expanding Microsoft’s enterprise AI pipeline and go-to-market reach in healthcare. Microsoft also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.98 from $0.91, signaling continued confidence in cash generation. Tucuvi joins Microsoft Pegasus Program
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Azure management is seeking roughly 20% cost reductions could improve efficiency and margins, but also underscore the pressure created by Microsoft’s substantial AI data-center investments.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s $10 million contribution to a White House ballroom project is unlikely to affect near-term financial results, though it could attract political or reputational scrutiny. Microsoft White House ballroom contribution
• Negative Sentiment: Higher inflation and bond yields have pressured AI valuations and raised concerns about the financing cost and returns of large infrastructure projects. Microsoft’s strong balance sheet makes it less vulnerable than smaller AI companies, but valuation sensitivity remains a risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft to Hold, while reports of security vulnerabilities, executive share sales and intense competition from rapidly growing AI companies add caution. Amy Hood’s sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, limiting its significance.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Evercore raised Microsoft from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wolfe Research lowered Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Forty-two 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $589.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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