Essex LLC Acquires 2,183 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Essex LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 16.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,283 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 2,183 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 0.9% of Essex LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Essex LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 32,799 shares of the software giant's stock worth $12,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883 shares during the last quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 6.4% in the second quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 5,203 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 226,148 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $84,358,000 after buying an additional 3,641 shares during the period. Rare Wolf Capital LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.2% in the second quarter. Rare Wolf Capital LLC now owns 26,731 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $9,971,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the period. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 87,611 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $32,681,000 after acquiring an additional 4,016 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group set a $525.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities cut Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $569.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $498.00 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $471.45 and a 200-day moving average of $424.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

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.

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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