Continuum Advisory LLC Grows Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Continuum Advisory increased its Microsoft stake by 1.8% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 54,262 shares valued at approximately $20.2 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion and earnings per share of $4.74, beating analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a generally bullish outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $578.73 price target.
• AI and cloud growth remain key catalysts through Azure demand, Copilot adoption and enterprise security tools, although investors face risks from elevated valuation, heavy data-center spending and rising interest rates. Microsoft also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, while insiders sold $71.4 million of stock during the latest quarter.

Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,262 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 977 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.6% of Continuum Advisory LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Continuum Advisory LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,426,862,000 after buying an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,852,884,000 after buying an additional 2,784,809 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,300,410 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $12,235,785,000 after buying an additional 458,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after buying an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was 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 directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and higher price target: Melius Research upgraded Microsoft from “Hold” to “Buy” and set a $665 target, arguing that corporate concerns about AI safety, governance and security could increase demand for Microsoft’s enterprise tools. BNP Paribas also reportedly raised its forecast to $604, citing Azure growth, Copilot consumption-based pricing and the integration of OpenAI-related revenue. Melius Research upgrades Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: AI and cloud momentum remain the core catalyst: Investors continue to focus on strong Azure demand, expanding AI infrastructure requirements and Copilot adoption. Microsoft is increasingly viewed as a relatively dependable enterprise AI leader, with its installed base, cloud platform and security products potentially giving it an advantage as businesses seek trusted AI solutions. Microsoft viewed as an AI leader
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming Windows and Surface event: Microsoft’s October 7 event will highlight on-device AI and could provide updates on Windows, Surface and Copilot monetization. The event is being watched for evidence that AI can reinvigorate the devices business while complementing faster-growing cloud operations. Microsoft Windows and Surface event
• Neutral Sentiment: Internal AI model shift: Microsoft is reportedly steering employees away from Anthropic’s Claude toward internally developed AI models. This could reduce costs and dependence on outside providers, but investors will watch whether Microsoft maintains performance and enterprise customer confidence.
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include valuation, spending and rates: Microsoft’s strong recent rally has increased valuation concerns, while substantial capital expenditures needed for data centers could pressure free cash flow. Rising Treasury yields may also weigh on richly valued AI stocks. Rising Treasury yields and AI stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Isolated selling signals: A member of Congress disclosed a sale of Microsoft shares ahead of earnings season. The trade is a limited sentiment indicator rather than a fundamental development, but it may attract attention after reports that Microsoft insiders have sold shares without reported purchases in recent months. Congressman sells Microsoft stock

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $529.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.10. 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. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $495.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $432.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $578.73.

About Microsoft

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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