Elevated Capital Advisors LLC Sells 7,184 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Elevated Capital Advisors reduced its Microsoft position by 35.2%, selling 7,184 shares in the second quarter and retaining 13,211 shares valued at approximately $4.93 million.
• Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft, while company insiders have sold 143,009 shares worth about $71.4 million over the past 90 days.
• Microsoft’s outlook remains broadly positive, supported by strong quarterly results, growing enterprise AI adoption and an average analyst target of $569.29; the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 35.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,211 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 7,184 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 1.4% of Elevated Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% during the second quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 153,883 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,400,000 after acquiring an additional 3,355 shares during the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors lifted its position in Microsoft by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 8,054 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,004,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Turn8 Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Turn8 Private Wealth Inc. now owns 22,110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,247,000 after purchasing an additional 3,708 shares during the last quarter. Fire Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fire Capital Management LLC now owns 18,903 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,051,000 after purchasing an additional 2,851 shares during the period. Finally, Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,680 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,595,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled a redesigned Copilot “super app” that combines access to Office applications with coding tools, autonomous AI agents and an Autopilot feature. The initiative is aimed primarily at business users and could improve enterprise adoption, usage and monetization of Microsoft’s AI offerings. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its Microsoft price target to $570, citing the company’s shift toward enterprise AI agents and a billing model tied more closely to customer usage. Other recent analyst targets have also moved higher, reinforcing expectations for sustained Azure and AI growth. Oppenheimer target article
• Positive Sentiment: Investors appear more confident that Microsoft can benefit from AI without depending on a single large-model provider. Its Azure cloud platform, Microsoft 365 ecosystem and enterprise distribution provide multiple avenues for converting AI investment into recurring revenue. MarketWatch article
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy bullish options activity, including a large call spread, suggests traders are positioning for additional upside. Technical analysts identified a potential move toward approximately $555, although this is market positioning rather than a fundamental forecast. Barchart options article
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market gains, led by AI stocks, provided an additional tailwind. However, elevated oil prices, Treasury yields and uncertainty over potential Federal Reserve policy changes remain important macroeconomic risks.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is moving away from a consumer-focused personal-assistant strategy and concentrating Copilot on workplace use. The usage-based approach could unlock greater revenue, but it may also make sales less predictable than traditional subscriptions if customer adoption is slower than expected. Financial Post article
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to monitor Microsoft’s substantial AI infrastructure spending, data-center capacity constraints and a reported 277-job reduction in Washington. These factors could pressure near-term margins even as Azure demand remains strong.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MSFT. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Raymond James Financial downgraded Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Forty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $569.29.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $516.17 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year 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 business's fifty day moving average is $477.93 and its 200-day moving average is $426.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

About Microsoft

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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