Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Newly Bought by Payne Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Payne Capital Management initiated a Microsoft position by purchasing 1,747 shares valued at approximately $652,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 43 analysts rating the stock a Buy and an average price target of $592.15. Microsoft recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, driven by continued Azure and enterprise AI demand.
• Microsoft insiders sold approximately $75.4 million of stock over the past three months, while the company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, implying a 0.7% annualized yield.

Payne Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,747 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $652,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.2% of Payne Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $27,338,370,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $18,306,443,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,928,664,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,653,812,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were 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 owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $592.15.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism and earnings expectations: BMO Capital raised its Microsoft price target to $600 while maintaining an Outperform rating, citing potential upside for Azure. Bernstein also reiterated Outperform and lifted its target to $662. Analysts expect Microsoft’s Oct. 28 results to benefit from Azure demand and expanding enterprise AI adoption. Boeing and Microsoft AI platform article
• Positive Sentiment: AI and cloud growth remain the core bull case: Commentary points to robust Azure infrastructure demand, commercial customer commitments and Microsoft’s ability to monetize AI across enterprise markets. Its new Maia AI chips could eventually reduce reliance on outside processors and lower inference costs, although execution remains important. Microsoft Q1 outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Xbox and industry partnerships: Microsoft plans next-generation Xbox consoles and handheld devices for the 2027–2028 holiday seasons. Separately, its partnership with AMD is intended to improve Xbox performance, while Boeing’s new Dataliner aircraft-data platform uses Microsoft Azure AI Foundry and could support enterprise cloud adoption. Next-generation Xbox article
• Neutral Sentiment: Tokenized-stock objection: Microsoft joined Alphabet and Goldman Sachs in objecting to having its shares listed on a proposed OKX-ICE tokenized-stock platform. The move may limit potential trading exposure but does not directly affect operating results. Tokenized stocks article
• Negative Sentiment: U.K. AI data-center withdrawal: Microsoft withdrew as anchor tenant from Nscale’s planned Loughton, Essex, facility because grid-connection delays threatened the power supply. The decision highlights electricity and permitting constraints that could slow Azure capacity expansion and increase infrastructure costs. Microsoft U.K. data-center withdrawal
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and execution pressure: Britain’s competition watchdog is considering strategic-market-status rules for Microsoft’s business software, potentially increasing compliance requirements. Investors are also watching whether very large AI capital expenditures generate sufficient revenue and cash flow to justify the spending. U.K. regulation article
• Negative Sentiment: Broader AI-stock weakness: A selloff across AI-related equities and concerns about financing, power availability and uncertain returns are weighing on large technology stocks, including Microsoft. The company’s elevated valuation leaves less room for disappointment if Azure growth or earnings guidance falls short.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.3%

MSFT stock opened at $531.87 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The business's 50-day moving average is $506.64 and its 200 day moving average is $443.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.95 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 1.71 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 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 business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.98 dividend. This is a boost 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 is presently 20.27%.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation NASDAQ: MSFT is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company's principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

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