Chancellor Financial Group WB LP Makes New $11.48 Million Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Chancellor Financial Group WB LP initiated an approximately $11.48 million Microsoft position in the second quarter, buying 30,780 shares. Microsoft now represents about 7.1% of the firm’s portfolio and is its third-largest holding.
• Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft, while insiders sold approximately $71.4 million worth of shares over the past quarter, including sales by CEOs Judson Althoff and Satya Nadella.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue up 17.7% year over year, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share. Analysts maintain a broadly bullish outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $578.73 price target.

Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 30,780 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $11,482,000. Microsoft comprises about 7.1% of Chancellor Financial Group WB LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $370,802,000. Balanced Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $692,000. Avaii Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $925,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $4,922,000. Finally, Vista Cima Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $4,226,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's 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 directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Summary

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

Microsoft Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $535.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $501.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $434.73. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date 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 is 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Melius Research set a $665.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $578.73.

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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