Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.

Key Points

• Richards Merrill & Peterson increased its Microsoft stake by 7.7% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 34,125 shares valued at approximately $12.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings per share of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $564.27.
• Insiders have been selling shares: executives sold approximately $50.7 million of stock over the past 90 days, including CEO Satya Nadella’s $43.4 million sale. Investors are also monitoring legal issues involving OpenAI and whether heavy AI infrastructure spending will generate sufficient returns.

Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,125 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 4.0% of Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.2%

MSFT stock opened at $493.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.50, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The company's 50 day moving average is $449.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $417.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 101,335 shares of company stock worth $50,655,795 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft disclosed that Azure is generating more than a $100 billion annualized revenue run rate and reorganized reporting around AI infrastructure and agents. Greater Azure transparency and accelerating demand could support revenue visibility and investor confidence. Microsoft Breaks Out Azure Sales at $100 Billion Annualized Pace, Reorganizes AI Segments
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is positioned at the center of a projected multitrillion-dollar AI infrastructure buildout, with Azure demand, large customer commitments, and its partnership with NVIDIA potentially creating a long-term growth opportunity. Nvidia, Microsoft at Center of $7 Trillion AI Boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with recent buy or overweight ratings and a reported median price target of $540. However, the stock’s sharp advance and proximity to its prior high make continued gains dependent on cash-flow conversion and the payoff from heavy AI investment. Microsoft Stock Opinions on Recent Earnings and Business Reorganization
• Negative Sentiment: Two additional lawsuits from news organizations over the use of news content in AI training increase legal uncertainty around Microsoft’s OpenAI relationship and could create financial, reputational, or operational costs. Microsoft's OpenAI Partnership Draws Fresh Legal Fire
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s effort to measure the “useful yield” produced by each AI infrastructure dollar and watt highlights investor concerns about whether massive data-center spending will generate adequate returns. The scrutiny could pressure sentiment toward Microsoft and key supplier NVIDIA. Microsoft’s Useful Yield Test Raises the Stakes for NVIDIA’s AI Economics
• Negative Sentiment: Recent reports also cite insider selling, including sales by Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella, while separate reports of Outlook and Microsoft 365 service disruptions add modest execution and reliability concerns. Microsoft's OpenAI Partnership Draws Fresh Legal Fire

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $515.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $564.27.

Microsoft Company 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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