4,135 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Bought by Highland Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Highland Investment Advisors LLC initiated a Microsoft position by purchasing 4,135 shares worth approximately $1.54 million, making MSFT its 22nd-largest holding and 0.7% of its portfolio.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of Microsoft, while company insiders sold 150,314 shares worth about $75.4 million during the latest quarter.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations, with revenue up 18.8% year over year, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $609.54.

Highland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,135 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,542,000. Microsoft makes up 0.7% of Highland Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% during 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 buying an additional 8,773 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,652,000. Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $75,641,000. GTS Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 271,597 shares of the software giant's stock worth $101,311,000 after acquiring an additional 83,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Henson Edgewater Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $9,430,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $530.14 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $551.15. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $512.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $438.21. The company has a market cap of $3.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 41.17%. The business had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.13 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.66 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial set a $630.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. CLSA restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Forty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.54.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft reported fiscal Q1 revenue of $92.28 billion and adjusted earnings of $4.89 per share, exceeding analyst estimates. Revenue grew 18.8% year over year, while Azure revenue surged 48% to approximately $33.2 billion, reinforcing the company’s position as a leading beneficiary of enterprise AI adoption. Microsoft beats quarterly cloud revenue estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Strong cloud growth, a $677 billion commercial backlog and expanding Copilot and AI-agent adoption have prompted several analysts to raise their price targets, including Citigroup’s $680 target and RBC’s $640 target. Microsoft stock slips despite strong Azure growth
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft generated approximately $18.6 billion in free cash flow, giving it substantially more flexibility than some rivals to fund AI investments without relying exclusively on debt. Analysts argue that the spending should be judged against the company’s cash generation and monetization potential. Microsoft Q1 capex and free cash flow
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is broadening Copilot distribution through education and finance-workflow integrations, while its AI-agent governance tools are attracting interest from major developers. These moves support the case for multiple long-term AI revenue streams. Microsoft expands Copilot in education
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft plans to issue as much as $25 billion in bonds, its first major U.S. bond sale since 2017, to support data-center and AI investment. Strong demand for the offering highlights investor confidence, but the borrowing also focuses attention on the scale of future capital requirements. Microsoft expects to raise $25 billion in bond sale
• Negative Sentiment: Capital expenditures came in below expectations, and Microsoft reduced its forecast to roughly $170 billion from $175 billion. Management attributed the shortfall to third-party chip and data-center capacity delays, but investors remain concerned that elevated spending may pressure returns and margins. AI buildout capex estimates
• Negative Sentiment: About $10 billion of quarterly revenue was tied to commercial arrangements with OpenAI, or nearly 11% of total revenue, increasing concentration and counterparty-risk concerns as the companies increasingly compete in AI services. Microsoft recorded $10 billion in revenue from OpenAI

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.

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