Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Newly Acquired by Alpha Advisors LLC VA

Alpha Advisors LLC VA bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,460 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,291,000. Microsoft accounts for about 1.0% of Alpha Advisors LLC VA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $635,732,000. Capital Square LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,035,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $56,775,000. Clarion Wealth Managment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,585,000. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $58,385,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Microsoft to remain the only major hyperscaler with positive free cash flow over the next year despite heavy AI investment. This reinforces confidence that the company can fund data-center expansion without substantial external financing. Microsoft Free Cash Flow Expected to Remain Positive
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement with NiSource for approximately 1,100 megawatts of power for an Indiana data-center campus beginning in 2028. Securing electricity supports future Azure capacity as grid constraints become a bottleneck for AI expansion. Microsoft Signs Power Deal With NiSource
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom Maia AI chips and reports that a new model achieved comparable or better performance than OpenAI’s system using a fraction of the computing power could eventually reduce reliance on expensive third-party GPUs and improve AI economics. Microsoft Wants to Make AI Cheaper
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization and capital expenditures ahead of earnings. Strong demand could support the shares, but the market wants evidence that revenue growth is translating into sustainable margins.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority is investigating Microsoft’s grip on business software and says Microsoft and Amazon Web Services may need to do more to address cloud-service barriers. Potential remedies could increase compliance costs or weaken customer-lock-in advantages. UK Regulator Targets Microsoft’s Business Software Grip
• Negative Sentiment: Questions remain over whether custom chips will deliver meaningful savings: AI infrastructure, power and data-center commitments are rising rapidly, while Microsoft is reportedly seeking substantial cost reductions in Azure. That creates concern about near-term free-cash-flow and margin pressure.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $589.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.9%

MSFT opened at $529.05 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $505.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $440.59. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. The business's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

About Microsoft

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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