Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 15.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 262,567 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 34,909 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 1.0% of Brookstone Capital Management's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Brookstone Capital Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $97,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% in the third quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,453,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Better Money Decisions LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% in the second quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,740,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.
Microsoft Price Performance
NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $510.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $441.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $415.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Dbs Bank lowered their target price on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $562.49.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MSFT
Insider Activity
In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 108,335 shares of company stock valued at $53,499,700. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Microsoft News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft will begin reporting quarterly Azure revenue in fiscal 2027 and reorganize its financial reporting from three segments into two AI-focused categories. Azure generated approximately $29.4 billion in quarterly revenue and $101.9 billion for fiscal 2026, providing investors with more visibility into cloud growth and AI demand. Microsoft to reveal Azure cloud sales in financial reporting shift
- Positive Sentiment: Citi reaffirmed a Buy rating and $600 price target, while other analysts cited Microsoft’s large AI backlog, Azure’s more than $100 billion annual revenue and the potential for improved AI economics. The company’s latest earnings also showed strong momentum, with revenue up 17.7% year over year and a substantial earnings beat. Analyst reaffirms Buy on Microsoft
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft-backed OpenAI launched GPT-6 Astra, potentially strengthening Microsoft’s AI ecosystem and demand for Azure infrastructure. Microsoft is also securing long-term power capacity for data centers and expanding Microsoft 365 Copilot integrations. OpenAI launches GPT-6 Astra
- Neutral Sentiment: CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares worth about $43.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The scheduled nature of the sale limits its significance, although it reduced his holdings by 15.09% and adds to recent insider selling.
- Negative Sentiment: Microsoft will impose monthly limits on Xbox cloud-gaming hours for Game Pass subscribers beginning in November as service costs rise. The change may improve economics but could hurt consumer sentiment and gaming engagement. Microsoft to impose time limits on Xbox cloud gaming
- Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to weigh Microsoft’s roughly $116 billion AI infrastructure spending plan, rising data-center costs and pressure on cloud margins. The key risk is whether the large backlog converts into profitable cash flow rather than simply future revenue.
Microsoft Profile
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Free Report)
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.
Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).
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