Crewe Advisors LLC Purchases 4,016 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Crewe Advisors increased its Microsoft stake by 4.8% in the second quarter, purchasing 4,016 shares for a total of 87,611 shares valued at approximately $32.7 million. Institutional investors own about 71.1% of Microsoft’s outstanding stock.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, beating analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $569.29.
• Growth prospects remain centered on Azure and AI, while Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend 8% to $0.98 per share. Investors are also monitoring elevated AI spending, OpenAI-related concentration risks and Xbox layoffs.

Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 87,611 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 4,016 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 2.4% of Crewe Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Crewe Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Partners in Financial Planning lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Partners in Financial Planning now owns 2,593 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. FWG Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. FWG Holdings LLC now owns 8,368 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,047,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Skylands Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 645 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Sequent Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the 1st 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. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their outlook. Oppenheimer increased its Microsoft price target to $570 from $515 while maintaining an Outperform rating, citing sustained Azure and Microsoft 365 commercial momentum into fiscal 2027. Cantor Fitzgerald also reportedly raised its target to $608 and kept an Overweight rating. Oppenheimer Microsoft price target article
• Positive Sentiment: Azure has additional growth levers. BNP Paribas said recent Azure strength may not reflect the full opportunity, pointing to higher pricing as contracts renew, capacity expansion and a potential SpaceX cloud relationship. Azure growth has reportedly reached the mid-40% range, supporting the view that AI infrastructure demand can continue driving revenue. BNP Paribas Azure outlook article
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns remain supportive. Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend approximately 8% to $0.98 per share, extending its dividend-growth streak to more than two decades. The increase signals management confidence, although the modest yield is unlikely to be the primary stock catalyst. Microsoft dividend increase article
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI remains both an opportunity and a concentration risk. Microsoft’s AI partner is reportedly seeking a valuation above $1.2 trillion, potentially reinforcing Microsoft’s Azure and Copilot ecosystem. However, projected cash burn of roughly $278 billion and the company’s reliance on Microsoft-supported infrastructure raise questions about customer durability and AI spending economics. OpenAI valuation and Microsoft article
• Negative Sentiment: Xbox layoffs pressured sentiment. Microsoft is cutting approximately 268 Xbox jobs, with broader reports pointing to roughly 500 affected employees, while shifting the next Halo game to Activision. The move highlights a continuing gaming reset and was the clearest near-term reason for weakness in MSFT shares. Microsoft Xbox restructuring article
• Negative Sentiment: AI execution risks remain. Investors continue to monitor heavy capital spending, copyright and regulatory challenges, and concerns that AI revenue is concentrated among a small number of customers. These risks could pressure margins or the valuation if Azure growth fails to meet elevated expectations.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $569.29.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $498.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $471.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $424.28.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for 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%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.