30,298 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Acquired by Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.

Key Points

• Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor acquired 30,298 Microsoft shares worth approximately $11.3 million in the second quarter, making Microsoft 5.7% of its portfolio and its fourth-largest holding.
• Microsoft insiders sold 143,009 shares valued at about $71.4 million over the past three months, including substantial sales by CEOs Judson Althoff and Satya Nadella.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue up 17.7% year over year, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $578.73.

Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 30,298 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $11,302,000. Microsoft accounts for 5.7% of Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Frankly Finances LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 37.4% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $60,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 34.2% in the second quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $101,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other 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 value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade 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 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.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra
• Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program
• Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Melius Research set a $665.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $578.73.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $535.07 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $501.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $434.73. The company has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

About Microsoft

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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