Crown Wealth Group LLC Acquires 1,304 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Crown Wealth Group increased its Microsoft stake by 5.4% in the second quarter, adding 1,304 shares for a total of 25,392 shares valued at approximately $9.47 million. Microsoft now represents 2.4% of the firm's portfolio.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, exceeding analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $564.27.
• AI and Azure remain central to Microsoft’s outlook: Azure growth accelerated to 43%, but elevated data-center spending and concerns about the timing of AI returns remain key risks. The company also raised its quarterly dividend 8% to $0.98 per share.

Crown Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,392 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.4% of Crown Wealth Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Crown Wealth Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Partners in Financial Planning lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Partners in Financial Planning now owns 2,593 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. FWG Holdings LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. FWG Holdings LLC now owns 8,368 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,047,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Skylands Capital LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 645 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.2% during the first quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Dividend raised 8%: Microsoft increased its quarterly payout from $0.91 to $0.98 per share, payable December 10 to shareholders of record November 19. The increase signals confidence in cash generation and brings the annualized yield to approximately 0.8%, while the payout ratio remains near 20%. Microsoft announces quarterly dividend increase
• Positive Sentiment: Azure momentum remains a key catalyst: Azure revenue growth accelerated to 43% year over year in the latest quarter, with management expecting another acceleration. Azure has also surpassed $100 billion in annual sales, reinforcing the investment case for Microsoft’s cloud and agentic-AI strategy. Microsoft Azure agentic AI growth
• Positive Sentiment: Enterprise AI ecosystem is expanding: Dun & Bradstreet is integrating its commercial data graph with Microsoft Copilot Studio and Dynamics 365 agents, potentially supporting broader enterprise adoption of Microsoft’s AI tools. Dun and Bradstreet Microsoft Copilot integration
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming product and reporting updates: Microsoft’s October 7 Windows and Surface event could provide a hardware and on-device AI catalyst. Separately, plans to disclose Azure revenue should give investors greater visibility into whether AI spending is translating into sales. Microsoft Windows and Surface event
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is the main overhang: Microsoft is reportedly targeting roughly 38 gigawatts of data-center capacity by 2032, while capital expenditures are already elevated and expected to rise again. Investors are concerned that returns from AI infrastructure may take time to materialize. Microsoft AI spending analysis
• Negative Sentiment: AI execution concerns persist: Federal agencies can begin contracting for Microsoft’s new AI government tier on October 1, but some features may not be available immediately. The gap between commitments and delivery could slow adoption or raise questions about execution. Microsoft government AI tier
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling adds a modest headwind: EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares worth approximately $20.8 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the transaction was scheduled in advance, it is not necessarily a bearish signal, but it may weigh marginally on sentiment.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. UBS Group set a $525.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Microsoft from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 27th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $564.27.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $490.30 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $462.53 and a 200-day moving average of $421.53. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. The company's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft 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.

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