Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by Stack Financial Management Inc

Key Points

• Stack Financial Management increased its Microsoft position by 1.4% in the second quarter, holding 187,635 shares worth approximately $70 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft’s outstanding stock.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year, and earnings of $4.74 per share, exceeding analyst estimates. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, an annualized yield of about 0.8%.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 43 Buy ratings and an average price target of $569.29, while Microsoft’s AI and Copilot expansion supports the long-term outlook. However, rising data-center investment, uneven AI adoption and growing competition could pressure returns.

Stack Financial Management Inc grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 187,635 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,560 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 5.5% of Stack Financial Management Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Stack Financial Management Inc's holdings in Microsoft were worth $69,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $101,000. Finally, Ramsey Quantitative Systems bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $112,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $509.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The business's fifty day moving average is $480.07 and its 200-day moving average is $427.02.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. Forty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $569.29.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled a redesigned Copilot experience featuring integrated Office tools, Chat, Cowork and Autopilot capabilities. Jefferies said the products create potential usage-based revenue streams, while analysts expect enterprise adoption to build gradually. Microsoft's Autopilot opens new AI revenue path
• Positive Sentiment: The Copilot overhaul is positioned as a stronger competitive response to Anthropic’s Claude. Microsoft also added GitHub’s coding engine to Copilot, allowing office workers to create applications and dashboards using natural-language instructions, potentially expanding paid AI usage. Microsoft puts GitHub coding engine inside Copilot
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed its Buy rating, and William Blair maintained a bullish view based on Copilot monetization potential and Microsoft’s expanding enterprise AI platform. Azure’s reported scale and backlog also support the long-term investment case. Microsoft Buy rating backed by Copilot monetization
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is extending AI partnerships, including a Nokia collaboration that combines Nokia’s telecommunications data with Microsoft Fabric for AI-driven network operations. The opportunity could broaden cloud demand, although financial benefits are not yet quantified. Nokia and Microsoft expand their AI reach
• Neutral Sentiment: TTEC Digital’s 11th consecutive Microsoft AI Business Solutions Inner Circle award highlights the strength of Microsoft’s partner ecosystem, but the recognition is not expected to materially affect near-term revenue. TTEC Digital earns Microsoft AI award
• Negative Sentiment: Reported AI usage shows a sizable regional gap—28.8% in the Global North versus 16.2% in the Global South—raising questions about the pace and breadth of Copilot adoption. Microsoft AI adoption gap
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is moving deeper into enterprise software, creating another competitive threat to Microsoft’s productivity, cloud and AI offerings. Meanwhile, additional layoffs and restructuring may reinforce concerns about execution and workforce disruption. Meta puts Microsoft on notice
• Negative Sentiment: Plans to more than triple data-center capacity by 2032 could support Azure growth but require enormous capital investment, increasing pressure to convert AI demand into cash flow and profits. Investor questions about AI subsidies and regulation add further uncertainty. Microsoft data center expansion

Microsoft Company Profile

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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