Brightwater Advisory LLC Acquires New Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Brightwater Advisory LLC purchased 2,658 Microsoft shares valued at approximately $991,000, making Microsoft 0.6% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 42 Buy ratings, four Holds and two Sells. Microsoft has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $578.73.
• Microsoft recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $4.74 in EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend to $0.98. Shares opened at $535.07, near their 52-week high.

Brightwater Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,658 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $991,000. Microsoft comprises 0.6% of Brightwater Advisory LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Frankly Finances LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 37.4% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $60,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $101,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $530.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised Microsoft from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 24th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $535.07 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $501.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $434.73. 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 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%. Microsoft's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

More 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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was 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 approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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