D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 41,937 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $15,643,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.5% of D L Carlson Investment Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.
Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 8,773 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock worth $199,014,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,562,197,000 after buying an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 138.8% in the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $502,077,000 after buying an additional 788,297 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Microsoft Trading Up 1.1%
Shares of MSFT opened at $541.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $502.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $436.28. 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 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The company has a market cap of $4.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.
Microsoft News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 AI chip is the key catalyst. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Maia 300 processor and plans to begin production deployments in 2027, eventually scaling the platform to multiple gigawatts and potentially as many as one million chips. The company says Maia 300 can deliver approximately 40% more AI-generated tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU-based systems, which could lower Azure costs and improve margins. Microsoft reveals Maia 300 AI chip
- Positive Sentiment: Greater control over AI supply and economics. Microsoft intends to make Maia a primary architecture for AI inference while continuing to use chips from Nvidia, AMD and Intel. Investors viewed the strategy as a way to reduce dependence on expensive, supply-constrained Nvidia hardware and strengthen Azure’s competitive position. Microsoft to rely more on homegrown AI chips
- Positive Sentiment: Underlying growth remains strong. Recent coverage points to Azure growth guidance of 44%–45%, rising Copilot adoption, a record backlog and more than $50 billion in quarterly capital spending to meet AI demand. These trends reinforce the bullish long-term case, although the October 28 earnings report will test whether growth remains above investor expectations.
- Neutral Sentiment: AI safety and infrastructure constraints remain in focus. CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith called for stronger safeguards, emergency controls and clearer AI regulation. Separately, industry leaders highlighted electricity and cooling capacity as potential limits on AI expansion. These issues may increase compliance and infrastructure costs but could also benefit Microsoft’s enterprise-focused approach.
- Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks increased. The U.S. suspended Microsoft from the PERM green-card program amid scrutiny of its H-1B hiring practices, potentially complicating access to technical talent. Norway also fined Microsoft subsidiary Xandr approximately €8.6 million for sharing Grindr user data. Microsoft PERM suspension
- Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks persist. Some analysts downgraded Microsoft amid concerns about elevated AI capital spending, high expectations and the need for Azure growth to remain above 40%. The departure of longtime science president Peter Lee is an additional, though relatively minor, leadership concern.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Argus lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $579.84.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft
Microsoft Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
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