Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Benchmark Investment Advisors acquired 11,600 Microsoft shares worth approximately $4.33 million during the second quarter, making Microsoft its 17th-largest holding. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the company.
• Microsoft’s AI expansion remains a key focus: analysts expect positive free cash flow despite heavy spending, while a 20-year, 1,100-megawatt power agreement supports future data-center growth. However, regulatory scrutiny and rising infrastructure costs could pressure margins.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 42 Buy ratings and an average price target of $589.71, although Raymond James downgraded the stock to Strong Sell. Microsoft also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98, while CEO Satya Nadella and EVP Amy Hood disclosed stock sales under pre-arranged trading plans.

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 11,600 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $4,327,000. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.9% of Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 6.2% in the first quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sequent Planning LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.7% during the first quarter. Sequent Planning LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,382,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 3.8% during the second quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC now owns 687 shares of the software giant's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the first quarter. Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC now owns 5,543 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,052,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Key Microsoft News

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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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 value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $589.71.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $529.05 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $505.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $440.59. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current 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 $0.98 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft Company 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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