33,166 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Acquired by OneAscent Financial Services LLC

Key Points

• OneAscent Financial Services acquired 33,166 Microsoft shares worth approximately $12.4 million, making Microsoft its 22nd-largest holding. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the company.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, surpassing analyst estimates, while revenue grew 17.7% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $581.80, although investors continue to monitor heavy AI infrastructure spending, regulatory issues and insider selling.

OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 33,166 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $12,372,000. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.6% of OneAscent Financial Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant's stock worth $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 8,773 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $199,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 8.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after purchasing an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 138.8% during the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $502,077,000 after purchasing an additional 788,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $543.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $503.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $437.50. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. 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. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Microsoft News Summary

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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $581.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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