Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Legacy Advisory Services LLC's 10th Largest Position

Legacy Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 95.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,198 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.6% of Legacy Advisory Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Legacy Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frankly Finances LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $101,000. Finally, Ramsey Quantitative Systems bought a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $112,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Argus lowered their target price on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Forty-two equities research 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, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $564.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, 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 value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $497.12 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $460.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $420.90. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. 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 last year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increased 8%: Microsoft’s board raised the quarterly dividend by $0.07 to $0.98 per share, signaling confidence in cash generation and improving shareholder returns. Microsoft announces quarterly dividend increase
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: Citizens JMP reaffirmed a “Market Outperform” rating and a $550 price target, implying additional upside from the reported $497.12 reference price. Other recent commentary highlights Azure growth, Copilot adoption and Microsoft’s enterprise software strength.
• Positive Sentiment: Greater Azure transparency could help the stock: Microsoft plans to report Azure revenue, rather than only its growth rate, in quarterly results. The move could make the cloud business easier to value and allow investors to better assess whether AI infrastructure spending is translating into revenue. Microsoft Azure revenue reporting
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming product catalyst: Microsoft scheduled a Windows and Surface event for October 7, where investors expect updates on next-generation hardware and on-device AI capabilities. Microsoft Windows and Surface event
• Neutral Sentiment: AI safety positioning: Microsoft’s draft “Humanist AI” code of conduct emphasizes human control, outside testing and limits on model behavior. The framework may improve trust and reduce regulatory risk, although a slower development approach could raise questions about competitiveness and commercialization.
• Negative Sentiment: Executive selling adds a modest overhang: EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares worth approximately $20.8 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance, it is not necessarily a signal about Microsoft’s outlook, but it adds to recent insider-selling activity.
• Negative Sentiment: AI execution and security concerns remain: Investors continue to weigh Microsoft’s heavy data-center investment against the time required to generate returns, while coverage of a recent large security patch highlights ongoing cybersecurity risks.

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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