5,552 Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by Foster & Motley Inc.

Key Points

• Foster & Motley increased its Microsoft stake by 6.9% in the second quarter, purchasing 5,552 shares and bringing its holdings to 85,839 shares valued at approximately $32 million. Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, while shares traded near record highs and the company approached a $4 trillion market capitalization.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and $578.73 price target, though insiders sold $71.4 million of stock over the past three months. Microsoft also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.

Foster & Motley Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 85,839 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 5,552 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.5% of Foster & Motley Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Foster & Motley Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $12,289,000. Rayburn West Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 5.9% in the second quarter. Rayburn West Financial Services LLC now owns 29,125 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,898,000 after acquiring an additional 1,624 shares during the last quarter. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the second quarter. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC now owns 14,105 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,261,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navigoe LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 39.8% in the second quarter. Navigoe LLC now owns 344 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra
• Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program
• Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Citigroup upgraded Microsoft from a "market outperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Microsoft from an "overweight" rating to a "negative" rating in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $578.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $535.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $501.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $434.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business 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 firm's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

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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