Leelyn Smith LLC Buys 1,883 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Leelyn Smith increased its Microsoft stake by 6.1%, purchasing 1,883 additional shares to hold 32,799 shares valued at approximately $12.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding analyst estimates and representing 17.7% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share, while analysts maintained a broadly positive outlook with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $569.29 price target; meanwhile, senior executives sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Leelyn Smith LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,799 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,883 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.5% of Leelyn Smith LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Leelyn Smith LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Partners in Financial Planning grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Partners in Financial Planning now owns 2,593 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. FWG Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. FWG Holdings LLC now owns 8,368 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,047,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Skylands Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 645 shares of the software giant's stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial boosted its stake in Microsoft by 6.2% during the first quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Sequent Planning LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.7% during the first quarter. Sequent Planning LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,382,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $498.00 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $471.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.28. 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 $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 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 firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the firm'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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 worth $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho lowered their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Monday, August 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $569.29.

Key Stories Impacting 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.

Microsoft Company Profile

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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