Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 397,731 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 6,239 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 3.7% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $148,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 410.4% during the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft will begin reporting quarterly Azure revenue in fiscal 2027 and reorganize its financial reporting from three segments into two AI-focused categories. Azure generated approximately $29.4 billion in quarterly revenue and $101.9 billion for fiscal 2026, providing investors with more visibility into cloud growth and AI demand. Microsoft to reveal Azure cloud sales in financial reporting shift
• Positive Sentiment: Citi reaffirmed a Buy rating and $600 price target, while other analysts cited Microsoft’s large AI backlog, Azure’s more than $100 billion annual revenue and the potential for improved AI economics. The company’s latest earnings also showed strong momentum, with revenue up 17.7% year over year and a substantial earnings beat. Analyst reaffirms Buy on Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft-backed OpenAI launched GPT-6 Astra, potentially strengthening Microsoft’s AI ecosystem and demand for Azure infrastructure. Microsoft is also securing long-term power capacity for data centers and expanding Microsoft 365 Copilot integrations. OpenAI launches GPT-6 Astra
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares worth about $43.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The scheduled nature of the sale limits its significance, although it reduced his holdings by 15.09% and adds to recent insider selling.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft will impose monthly limits on Xbox cloud-gaming hours for Game Pass subscribers beginning in November as service costs rise. The change may improve economics but could hurt consumer sentiment and gaming engagement. Microsoft to impose time limits on Xbox cloud gaming
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to weigh Microsoft’s roughly $116 billion AI infrastructure spending plan, rising data-center costs and pressure on cloud margins. The key risk is whether the large backlog converts into profitable cash flow rather than simply future revenue.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $510.12 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $441.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $415.21. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 20th. Mizuho cut their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $515.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $562.49.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale 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 Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 108,335 shares of company stock worth $53,499,700 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

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