Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by Professional Advisory Services Inc.

Key Points

• Professional Advisory Services Inc. increased its Microsoft stake by 1.2% in the second quarter to 92,639 shares valued at approximately $34.6 million. Microsoft represents 4.1% of the firm’s portfolio, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 42 Buy ratings and five Holds, resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $560.27.
• Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, beating estimates, while revenue rose 17.7% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, although investors continue to weigh heavy AI capital spending against free-cash-flow pressure.

Professional Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 92,639 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,134 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 4.1% of Professional Advisory Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Professional Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $34,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Phillip Securities lowered Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. China Renaissance dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $525.00 target price on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.27.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly preparing to launch its Maia 300 AI accelerator as soon as this fall and is discussing production with TSMC. Developing proprietary chips could reduce long-term reliance on Nvidia, improve supply-chain control, and support Microsoft’s expanding AI infrastructure. Microsoft’s Betting Big on Its Own AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Meta has reportedly become one of Microsoft’s largest Azure AI customers, spending hundreds of millions of dollars annually and consuming substantial computing capacity. The relationship reinforces evidence that enterprise demand is translating into Azure revenue. Meta Emerges as a Major Microsoft Azure AI Client
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend to $0.91 per share, while Azure revenue reportedly surpassed $100 billion. Analysts and financial commentators also highlighted a roughly $678 billion backlog and continued strong demand for cloud and AI services. Microsoft Raises Dividend as AI Capital Spending Hits Record Levels
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft approved the Horizon 1 Texas data-center project involving IREN, potentially expanding capacity available for AI workloads. The development is strategically relevant, although the near-term financial benefit to Microsoft remains unclear. Microsoft Accepts Horizon 1
• Negative Sentiment: Annual capital spending has climbed nearly 80% to about $115.9 billion, while free cash flow declined. Investors remain focused on whether AI revenue growth will generate adequate returns on this spending. Microsoft Spent $115.9 Billion on AI
• Negative Sentiment: TCI Management reportedly exited its Microsoft position and increased its Alphabet stake, adding a notable institutional-selling signal. Separately, commentary warned that Microsoft’s valuation depends on optimistic earnings forecasts, while higher bond yields could reduce the present value of future AI profits. TCI Exits Microsoft

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $483.24 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $419.61 and a 200-day moving average of $409.20.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

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