GraniteShares Advisors LLC Sells 1,026 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• GraniteShares Advisors cut its Microsoft stake by 8.7%, selling 1,026 shares and retaining 10,785 shares valued at approximately $4.02 million. Microsoft remains the firm’s largest holding, while institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the stock.
• Microsoft beat quarterly expectations with $4.74 in EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, representing 17.7% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, or $3.92 annually.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 43 Buy ratings, four Holds and one Sell; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $570.62. However, insiders have sold about $71.4 million of stock over the past 90 days, while investors remain concerned about the cost and payoff timing of Microsoft’s AI infrastructure spending.

GraniteShares Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,785 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,026 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.6% of GraniteShares Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. GraniteShares Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Finally, Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $112,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.8%

Microsoft stock opened at $512.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.11. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $484.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $428.53. 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 data 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 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 analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Microsoft from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays cut their price target on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Forty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $570.62.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $610 from $550 and maintained an Overweight rating, citing improving estimates for Microsoft’s commercial cloud business and potential revenue from the new E7 enterprise licensing tier. Why is Microsoft stock up on Wednesday?
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s revamped Copilot is becoming more enterprise-focused, while usage-based billing expected to begin in November could simplify adoption and improve monetization. Analysts also see potential for paid Copilot seats to continue expanding rapidly. What a Revamped Copilot Means for Microsoft Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is bringing OpenAI’s autonomous “Dots” agents into its enterprise security and governance framework, strengthening its position in workplace AI. A long-term Xbox publishing agreement with Take-Two also supports the gaming ecosystem. Microsoft Brings OpenAI’s Autonomous Dots AI Workers Into the Enterprise
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft has delivered a substantial quarterly rally, but its valuation remains below its recent average P/E despite strong Azure growth, expanding Copilot demand and a sizable commercial backlog. This leaves room for additional upside, although expectations are already elevated. How Much Upside Is Left In Microsoft Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that surging AI infrastructure spending could outpace free cash flow before Azure and Copilot returns fully materialize. Microsoft also warns that AI agents may weaken traditional software pricing power and customer loyalty. The AI Revolution Could Be Microsoft’s Next Trillion-Dollar Opportunity

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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