Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.

Key Points

• Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. increased its Microsoft stake by 2.2% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 153,883 shares valued at approximately $57.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 43 Buy ratings, four Holds and one Sell; the stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $569.29.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations, while its latest dividend rose to $0.98 per share. However, insiders sold more than 143,000 shares worth $71.4 million over the past three months, and investors continue to monitor AI infrastructure spending and margin pressure.

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 153,883 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 3,355 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.6% of Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $57,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Carrera Capital Advisors lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 8,054 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,004,000 after buying an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Turn8 Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 20.1% during the second quarter. Turn8 Private Wealth Inc. now owns 22,110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,247,000 after buying an additional 3,708 shares during the last quarter. Fire Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fire Capital Management LLC now owns 18,903 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,051,000 after acquiring an additional 2,851 shares during the last quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,680 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,595,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. increased its position in Microsoft by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. now owns 48,411 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $18,058,000 after acquiring an additional 4,848 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Bank of America increased 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. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $530.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $569.29.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled a redesigned Copilot “super app” that combines access to Office applications with coding tools, autonomous AI agents and an Autopilot feature. The initiative is aimed primarily at business users and could improve enterprise adoption, usage and monetization of Microsoft’s AI offerings. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its Microsoft price target to $570, citing the company’s shift toward enterprise AI agents and a billing model tied more closely to customer usage. Other recent analyst targets have also moved higher, reinforcing expectations for sustained Azure and AI growth. Oppenheimer target article
• Positive Sentiment: Investors appear more confident that Microsoft can benefit from AI without depending on a single large-model provider. Its Azure cloud platform, Microsoft 365 ecosystem and enterprise distribution provide multiple avenues for converting AI investment into recurring revenue. MarketWatch article
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy bullish options activity, including a large call spread, suggests traders are positioning for additional upside. Technical analysts identified a potential move toward approximately $555, although this is market positioning rather than a fundamental forecast. Barchart options article
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market gains, led by AI stocks, provided an additional tailwind. However, elevated oil prices, Treasury yields and uncertainty over potential Federal Reserve policy changes remain important macroeconomic risks.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is moving away from a consumer-focused personal-assistant strategy and concentrating Copilot on workplace use. The usage-based approach could unlock greater revenue, but it may also make sales less predictable than traditional subscriptions if customer adoption is slower than expected. Financial Post article
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to monitor Microsoft’s substantial AI infrastructure spending, data-center capacity constraints and a reported 277-job reduction in Washington. These factors could pressure near-term margins even as Azure demand remains strong.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $516.17 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $477.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $426.29.

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 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 analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 earnings per share 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 represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Microsoft 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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