4,101 Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Legacy Financial Advisors increased its Microsoft stake by 11.7% in the second quarter, acquiring 4,101 shares for a total holding of 39,173 shares valued at approximately $14.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, representing 17.7% year-over-year revenue growth. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $592.15.
• Investors are focused on upcoming catalysts including Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization and infrastructure spending. Microsoft also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, while AI-related capital expenditures and margin pressure remain key risks.

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 11.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,173 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 4,101 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.8% of Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.0% in the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $85,604,000 after acquiring an additional 8,773 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $3,652,000. Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $75,641,000. GTS Securities LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 44.6% during the second quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 271,597 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $101,311,000 after acquiring an additional 83,734 shares during the period. Finally, Henson Edgewater Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $9,430,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and earnings expectations remain strong. Bank of America reaffirmed its Buy rating and forecast approximately 44.8% Azure growth. Analysts expect quarterly results to be broadly in line with estimates, with Azure strength potentially offsetting heavy investment in AI infrastructure. Microsoft Stock Forecast: BofA Reaffirms Buy Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom silicon and security businesses could support future cloud margins. The Maia AI accelerator and other internally developed chips may reduce reliance on Nvidia, improve cost control and retain more economics from Microsoft’s AI services. Investors are also watching whether security growth helps offset data-center expenses. Microsoft: Security And Silicon Set The Stage For Cloud Margin Recovery
• Positive Sentiment: Medical AI results add another potential growth opportunity. Microsoft’s MAI-DxO reportedly diagnosed complex cases more than twice as often as general physicians in a simulation, strengthening the company’s positioning in healthcare AI, although commercialization and regulatory hurdles remain. Microsoft develops AI tool that can diagnose sequentially like a doctor
• Neutral Sentiment: The upcoming report is a major near-term catalyst. Investors will focus on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization, capital expenditures, backlog conversion and management’s outlook. The stock is trading near its yearly high, raising expectations for a strong forecast. Microsoft's Earnings Problem: Even Great May Not Be Enough
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending and market conditions could pressure valuation and margins. Investors have recently sold some technology shares when companies raised infrastructure budgets, while a weaker overall market and higher oil prices have added volatility. Microsoft’s large data-center investment must translate into revenue growth to justify the spending. Microsoft Earnings Report To Focus On AI Momentum, Capex
• Negative Sentiment: Operational and product concerns remain. Microsoft withdrew from a U.K. data-center deal because of power-delivery delays, and Xbox cloud-streaming price changes have generated customer friction. Former CEO Bill Gates has also warned about AI safety risks, potentially increasing regulatory scrutiny. Microsoft pulls out of UK Nscale data centre deal over power delay

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $524.51 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The stock's 50-day moving average is $508.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $446.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for 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%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.98 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Melius Research set a $665.00 price objective on Microsoft and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 12th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Forty-three research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $592.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation NASDAQ: MSFT is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company's principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.