3,404 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Purchased by OneAscent Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• OneAscent Wealth Management purchased 3,404 Microsoft shares worth approximately $1.27 million in the second quarter, making Microsoft 0.4% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the company.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $4.74 per share on $90.01 billion in revenue, beating analyst expectations, while revenue increased 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.
• Microsoft shares opened at $543.45, near their 52-week high, and analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $581.80. Meanwhile, insiders sold 143,009 shares worth $71.4 million over the past three months.

OneAscent Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,404 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,270,000. Microsoft accounts for 0.4% of OneAscent Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the software giant's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sequent Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Sequent Planning LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,382,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% in the second quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC now owns 687 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC now owns 5,543 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,052,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4%

MSFT opened at $543.45 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $503.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $437.50. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 1.74 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 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 paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Microsoft from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Forty-two 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $581.80.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

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.

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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