Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC Acquires 5,983 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Aberdeen Wealth Management acquired 5,983 Microsoft shares worth approximately $2.23 million, making Microsoft 1.1% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the company.
• Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, surpassing estimates and increasing revenue 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $589.71, although executives have sold shares and investors continue to weigh heavy AI spending, margin pressure and potential regulatory challenges.

Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,983 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $2,232,000. Microsoft comprises 1.1% of Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Microsoft by 30.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after acquiring an additional 9,814,598 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Microsoft by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,852,884,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784,809 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Microsoft by 64.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,982,083,000 after purchasing an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,715,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,412 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction 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. 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 three months, insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.9%

MSFT opened at $529.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock's fifty day moving average is $505.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $440.59. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company 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 an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend 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

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Melius Research set a $665.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $589.71.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Microsoft to remain the only major hyperscaler with positive free cash flow over the next year despite heavy AI investment. This reinforces confidence that the company can fund data-center expansion without substantial external financing. Microsoft Free Cash Flow Expected to Remain Positive
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement with NiSource for approximately 1,100 megawatts of power for an Indiana data-center campus beginning in 2028. Securing electricity supports future Azure capacity as grid constraints become a bottleneck for AI expansion. Microsoft Signs Power Deal With NiSource
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom Maia AI chips and reports that a new model achieved comparable or better performance than OpenAI’s system using a fraction of the computing power could eventually reduce reliance on expensive third-party GPUs and improve AI economics. Microsoft Wants to Make AI Cheaper
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization and capital expenditures ahead of earnings. Strong demand could support the shares, but the market wants evidence that revenue growth is translating into sustainable margins.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority is investigating Microsoft’s grip on business software and says Microsoft and Amazon Web Services may need to do more to address cloud-service barriers. Potential remedies could increase compliance costs or weaken customer-lock-in advantages. UK Regulator Targets Microsoft’s Business Software Grip
• Negative Sentiment: Questions remain over whether custom chips will deliver meaningful savings: AI infrastructure, power and data-center commitments are rising rapidly, while Microsoft is reportedly seeking substantial cost reductions in Azure. That creates concern about near-term free-cash-flow and margin pressure.

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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