J. M. Brown & Associates Inc. Takes $1.97 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

J. M. Brown & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,289 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,973,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.1% of J. M. Brown & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ndwm LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ndwm LLC now owns 784 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 62.3% in the second quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,120 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,537,000 after buying an additional 1,581 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 4.3% in the second quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,870 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,189,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% in the second quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 17,734 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,615,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 18,842 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,028,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were 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 $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 SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% 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 have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of MSFT opened at $501.61 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $469.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $423.62. The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given 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 currently 20.27%.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Higher Azure prices could support growth and margins. BNP Paribas said Microsoft may gain another growth lever as higher Azure prices are introduced to renewing customers, assigning a $549 price target. Microsoft’s Azure Has Another Growth Lever Waiting in the Wings, Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their outlooks on AI demand. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted its Microsoft price target from $522 to $608 and maintained an overweight rating, citing opportunities in AI and cybersecurity. Erste Group also raised its earnings estimates. Cantor Fitzgerald Raises Microsoft Price Target to $608
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure demand remains substantial. Microsoft and Anthropic reportedly represent $87.7 billion of the $103 billion contract backlog at AI infrastructure provider Nscale, highlighting the scale of enterprise AI spending and potential Azure demand. Microsoft and Anthropic dominate Nscale’s contract backlog
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder-return and valuation support added to the bullish case. Bill Ackman described Microsoft as a core holding after building a roughly $2.4 billion position, while Microsoft’s dividend increase and strong software franchise were cited as additional attractions.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is adding a fourth cloud region in Hyderabad, improving geographic resilience, although the company provided no site-level capacity or investment details. Satya Nadella’s expected attendance at a Trump-Xi state dinner could provide diplomatic visibility but has limited direct financial impact.
• Negative Sentiment: Copyright and AI-regulation concerns remain overhangs. Publisher testimony in ongoing copyright disputes has intensified questions about whether AI products substitute for original content. Microsoft executives have also warned that divergent AI rules could affect industry economics. Microsoft Slips as AI Testimony Sharpens Copyright Risk
• Negative Sentiment: New gaming-advertising initiatives generated investor skepticism. A patent covering contextual in-game advertisements raised concerns about user experience and monetization strategy. Microsoft Stock Slips on Xbox Patent for Ads in Video Games
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are weighing elevated AI capital spending, cloud-security concerns following the Hugging Face incident and the possibility that expectations are already priced in after Microsoft’s powerful summer advance. Redburn’s lower $440 target underscores the disagreement over valuation.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore set a $528.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Microsoft from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $567.07.

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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