LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC initiated a Microsoft position in the second quarter, buying 21,384 shares valued at approximately $7.98 million. Microsoft now represents about 1% of the fund’s portfolio, while institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the stock.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion; revenue rose 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share from $0.91.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with 42 Buy ratings, an average “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $581.80. However, insiders sold roughly $71.4 million of stock during the latest quarter, including sales by CEO Satya Nadella and EVP Takeshi Numoto.

LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 21,384 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $7,977,000. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.0% of LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,426,862,000 after buying an additional 9,814,598 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,852,884,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784,809 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,982,083,000 after acquiring an additional 9,493,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,715,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,412 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm's 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 directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $543.45 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $503.23 and a 200-day moving average of $437.50. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. CLSA reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore raised Microsoft from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Microsoft from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $581.80.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 strengthens Microsoft’s AI strategy. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Maia 300 custom AI processor, which it says can deliver approximately 40% more AI-generated tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU-based systems. The company plans multi-gigawatt deployments beginning in 2027, potentially lowering inference costs, improving Azure margins and reducing reliance on Nvidia and AMD. Microsoft Reveals Next-Gen Maia 300 Custom AI Chip For Widespread Deployment
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure demand remains exceptionally strong. Microsoft reportedly signed more than $130 billion in data-center leases during the quarter, signaling aggressive capacity expansion to meet demand for Azure and AI services. Management has also indicated that demand continues to exceed available capacity, while its commercial backlog has reached a record level. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is supportive ahead of earnings. Barclays raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $512 and expects greater differentiation in software results. Microsoft is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter 2027 results on October 28, with consensus estimates of approximately $4.72 in earnings per share and $90.4 billion in revenue. Microsoft price target raised to $600 from $512 at Barclays
• Positive Sentiment: New AI products broaden Microsoft’s growth opportunities. The Decision-1 model is described as faster and cheaper to operate than competing systems, while new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop devices add AI features, 5G connectivity and improved battery efficiency.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are weighing AI growth against spending. The Maia rollout could improve long-term economics, but Microsoft is committing substantial capital to data centers and chips. Analysts are monitoring whether shrinking free cash flow and high infrastructure costs offset Azure and Copilot growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and execution risks remain. Microsoft is conducting another round of layoffs in Israel, its research chief Peter Lee is leaving for Mercedes’ Formula 1 team, and Norway fined subsidiary Xandr €8.6 million over Grindr data sharing. Nadella and President Brad Smith are also calling for stronger AI safeguards, highlighting potential compliance costs and liability risks.

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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