Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Newly Bought by Burk Holdings LLC

Key Points

• Burk Holdings LLC initiated a Microsoft position by purchasing 2,532 shares valued at approximately $944,000, making MSFT its 15th-largest holding. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, or $3.92 annually.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 42 Buy ratings and an average price target of $589.71 versus the reported share price of $529.05. Investors are nevertheless monitoring heavy AI infrastructure spending, margin pressure and potential regulatory scrutiny of Microsoft’s cloud and software businesses.

Burk Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,532 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $944,000. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.3% of Burk Holdings LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Elefante Mark B purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,145,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,310,000. Haverford Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $18,743,000. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $4,327,000. Finally, True Freedom Investing LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $8,032,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of MSFT opened at $529.05 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $505.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $440.59. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors 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 yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Microsoft from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $512.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $589.71.

Key Stories Impacting 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.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft 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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