Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by Covington Investment Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Covington Investment Advisors increased its Microsoft stake by 3.5% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 85,141 shares valued at approximately $31.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Wall Street remains broadly optimistic, with 43 analysts rating Microsoft a Buy and a consensus price target of $592.15. Analysts are focused on Azure growth, AI monetization, Copilot adoption and the company’s substantial AI infrastructure spending ahead of earnings.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, including $4.74 in EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share. However, insiders have sold shares recently, and investors continue to weigh AI-related margin pressures and execution risks.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,141 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 2,843 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.1% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $31,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and earnings expectations remain strong. Bank of America reaffirmed its Buy rating and forecast approximately 44.8% Azure growth. Analysts expect quarterly results to be broadly in line with estimates, with Azure strength potentially offsetting heavy investment in AI infrastructure. Microsoft Stock Forecast: BofA Reaffirms Buy Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom silicon and security businesses could support future cloud margins. The Maia AI accelerator and other internally developed chips may reduce reliance on Nvidia, improve cost control and retain more economics from Microsoft’s AI services. Investors are also watching whether security growth helps offset data-center expenses. Microsoft: Security And Silicon Set The Stage For Cloud Margin Recovery
• Positive Sentiment: Medical AI results add another potential growth opportunity. Microsoft’s MAI-DxO reportedly diagnosed complex cases more than twice as often as general physicians in a simulation, strengthening the company’s positioning in healthcare AI, although commercialization and regulatory hurdles remain. Microsoft develops AI tool that can diagnose sequentially like a doctor
• Neutral Sentiment: The upcoming report is a major near-term catalyst. Investors will focus on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization, capital expenditures, backlog conversion and management’s outlook. The stock is trading near its yearly high, raising expectations for a strong forecast. Microsoft's Earnings Problem: Even Great May Not Be Enough
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending and market conditions could pressure valuation and margins. Investors have recently sold some technology shares when companies raised infrastructure budgets, while a weaker overall market and higher oil prices have added volatility. Microsoft’s large data-center investment must translate into revenue growth to justify the spending. Microsoft Earnings Report To Focus On AI Momentum, Capex
• Negative Sentiment: Operational and product concerns remain. Microsoft withdrew from a U.K. data-center deal because of power-delivery delays, and Xbox cloud-streaming price changes have generated customer friction. Former CEO Bill Gates has also warned about AI safety risks, potentially increasing regulatory scrutiny. Microsoft pulls out of UK Nscale data centre deal over power delay

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Melius Research set a $665.00 target price on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Microsoft from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Mizuho increased their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Forty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $592.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total transaction of $3,984,293.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 555,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $302,924,086.32. The trade was a 1.30% 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 a total of 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $524.51 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $508.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $446.17. 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 market cap of $3.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

About Microsoft

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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