7,841 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Purchased by Advisory Solutions Group LLC

Key Points

• Advisory Solutions Group LLC bought 7,841 Microsoft shares worth approximately $2.93 million during the second quarter, making Microsoft about 1% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the company.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 18.8% to $92.28 billion and EPS of $4.89, supported by 48% Azure growth. However, investors remain focused on the returns from roughly $170 billion in planned AI spending, rising infrastructure costs and narrowing cloud margins.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $609.54 price target. Microsoft also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, while insiders have sold approximately $75.4 million of stock over the past three months.

Advisory Solutions Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,841 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $2,925,000. Microsoft comprises about 1.0% of Advisory Solutions Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

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

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

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 Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MSFT. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Yorkville Ives started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $615.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $630.00 price objective (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.54.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $521.91 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $512.91 and a 200-day moving average of $438.43. The company has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $551.15.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The business had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.13 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm 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 a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.46%.

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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