Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by FAS Wealth Partners Inc.

Key Points

• FAS Wealth Partners increased its Microsoft stake by 3.1% in the first quarter to 49,116 shares valued at approximately $18.2 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 expectations and representing 17.7% year-over-year revenue growth. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $560.27.
• Microsoft’s AI and cloud expansion remains a key growth driver, but investors face concerns over potential AI-chip deployment shortfalls and the pressure that heavy infrastructure spending and rising debt obligations could place on returns.

FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,116 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.1% of FAS Wealth Partners Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. FAS Wealth Partners Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th 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. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure business reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, reinforcing confidence that AI demand is translating into substantial cloud growth. The company’s strong recent earnings, rising Microsoft 365 seat count and increasing adoption of premium E7 and Copilot offerings provide additional long-term growth support. Azure revenue article Microsoft 365 seats article
• Positive Sentiment: William Blair reaffirmed a Buy rating, citing early AI monetization and a constructive long-term risk-reward profile. Other coverage highlighted Microsoft’s ability to generate cash while investing heavily in AI infrastructure, distinguishing it from some competitors. Microsoft Buy rating article
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is developing its Maia 300 AI accelerator, potentially reducing dependence on Nvidia processors and improving supply flexibility and infrastructure economics over time. Maia 300 chip article
• Neutral Sentiment: A partnership with Plug Power tested hydrogen fuel-cell backup power for Microsoft data centers. The trial could support data-center resilience, but Plug’s CEO said it does not represent a strategic pivot or an immediate material change for Microsoft. Plug Power and Microsoft article
• Negative Sentiment: A Guardian investigation raised questions about a possible shortfall in advanced AI chips installed across Microsoft’s facilities relative to its stated data-center expansion plans. Reports cited a potential gap of roughly 2.2 million chips, fueling concerns about deployment timing, capacity and near-term AI revenue growth. Microsoft chip capacity article
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley warned that heavy AI capital expenditure and rising debt-related obligations could pressure hyperscaler credit quality. Although Microsoft has a strong balance sheet, the warning increases scrutiny of whether massive infrastructure spending will generate adequate returns. Morgan Stanley hyperscaler warning

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $480.35 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The company has a market cap of $3.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $412.64 and a 200-day moving average of $408.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. UBS Group set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.27.

Microsoft Company 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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