43,326 Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by HORAN Wealth LLC

Key Points

• HORAN Wealth cut its Microsoft position by 49.2% in the second quarter, selling 43,326 shares and retaining 44,652 shares valued at approximately $16.7 million.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue of $92.28 billion, EPS of $4.89 and Azure growth of 48%; analysts maintain a broadly bullish view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $609.54.
• Investors remain focused on the risks of Microsoft’s heavy AI investment, including roughly $170 billion in planned capital spending, a $25 billion bond offering and pressure on cloud margins, while insiders sold approximately $75.4 million of stock during the latest quarter.

HORAN Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 49.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,652 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 43,326 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.1% of HORAN Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. HORAN Wealth LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Montgomery Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $37,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 37.4% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft delivered a strong fiscal first quarter, with revenue of $92.28 billion and EPS of $4.89, both above expectations. Azure revenue surged 48%, while Microsoft Cloud revenue rose 30%, reinforcing the view that AI demand is translating into meaningful cloud growth. Microsoft Earnings Expose a Growing Divide in the Magnificent 7 AI Trade
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued second-quarter revenue guidance of $96.0 billion to $97.1 billion, above the $95.7 billion consensus estimate. Analysts responded with multiple price-target increases, including targets of $630 to $680, and Wolfe Research upgraded the stock to “strong buy.”
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s strong cash generation and diversified enterprise business continue to distinguish it from rivals facing sharper cash-flow concerns. Analysts argue that Azure, Copilot, AI agents and Microsoft’s security products provide several ways to monetize AI. The expanded Estée Lauder partnership, which will extend Copilot to more than 14,000 employees, offers another example of enterprise adoption. Estée Lauder and Microsoft Strategic Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s voluntary exit offer for approximately 60,000 employees may improve productivity and redirect resources toward AI, but it also highlights a significant restructuring as the company shifts toward more automated, equipment-intensive operations. Microsoft’s 60,000-Person Buyout Offer
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Microsoft’s capital intensity. The company plans roughly $170 billion of AI-related capital spending, while also arranging a $25 billion bond sale—the first major U.S. debt offering since 2017—to fund its buildout. Rising borrowing costs increase scrutiny of future AI returns. Microsoft Plans to Raise $25 Billion in Debt
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly capital spending was below analyst expectations because third-party AI-chip and data-center capacity was delayed, pushing some capacity into the first half of 2027. While management described this as a supply issue rather than weaker demand, the miss hurt AI infrastructure suppliers and revived concerns about the pace of expansion.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s cloud gross margin is reportedly narrowing as chip, power, data-center and labor costs rise. With the Nasdaq 100 down sharply during October amid fears of an AI spending bubble, investors are demanding proof that Microsoft’s large backlog will convert into profitable cash flow—not merely future revenue.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 Microsoft 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $570.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.54.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $521.91 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $551.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $512.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $438.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% 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 last year, the company earned $4.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.79 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 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 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 19.00%.

Microsoft Company Profile

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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