Ahara Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Ahara Advisors increased its Microsoft stake by 359.9% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 56,035 shares valued at approximately $20.7 million. Microsoft now represents 14.1% of the firm’s portfolio, while institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the stock.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and earnings of $4.74 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue up 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share.
• Despite strong analyst support—with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $564.27 price target—Microsoft insiders sold 143,009 shares worth about $71.4 million during the last quarter.

Ahara Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 359.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,035 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 43,852 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 14.1% of Ahara Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Ahara Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $101,000. Ramsey Quantitative Systems purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $112,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 16.6% during the first quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC now owns 422 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $493.78 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $466.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $422.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. The business's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given 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 yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus cut their target price on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $515.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $564.27.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure and AI businesses remain the primary bullish catalysts. Analysts point to accelerating cloud growth, broad enterprise adoption and Microsoft’s distribution advantage through Azure, Microsoft 365 and Copilot. These Magnificent Seven Members Still Look Cheap
• Positive Sentiment: Causaly expanded its collaboration with Microsoft, making its agentic scientific-research tools available within Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft 365 and Teams. The deal supports Microsoft’s strategy of adding specialized AI workflows to its enterprise software ecosystem. Causaly is Now Available in Microsoft Copilot
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s 8% quarterly dividend increase reinforces its strong cash generation and provides shareholder support, although the company continues to invest heavily in cloud and AI infrastructure. Microsoft Slips as Its Quarterly Dividend Climbs 8%
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman called recent reports of concerning model behavior at OpenAI a “serious situation” and emphasized the need for controllable, human-aligned AI. The comments highlight Microsoft’s safety focus but also underscore reputational and product-liability risks across the sector. OpenAI's latest AI revelation is a serious situation
• Negative Sentiment: Unsealed filings reportedly include Microsoft and OpenAI employees’ concerns that AI training on millions of news articles could amount to the “largest theft of labor in human history.” The disclosures may weaken the companies’ fair-use defense and increase potential litigation, licensing and regulatory costs. OpenAI, Microsoft executives' quotes on AI training threaten copyright defense
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of insider selling added to near-term sentiment pressure, while Microsoft faces competitive challenges from Salesforce’s AIforce and ongoing debate over whether its substantial AI spending will generate adequate returns. Microsoft Trading Down After Insider Selling

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.

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