Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Lifted by Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Acumen Wealth Advisors increased its Microsoft stake by 12.6% in the first quarter to 37,543 shares valued at approximately $13.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $4.74 per share and $90.01 billion in revenue, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue rose 17.7% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $558.87, although rising AI infrastructure spending, margin pressure, customer concentration and recent insider selling remain risks.

Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 12.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,543 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 4,204 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.7% of Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% during the third quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Better Money Decisions LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,740,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,251 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,720,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Pollock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,453,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $499.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $404.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $406.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its Microsoft price target to $600. The upgrade follows Microsoft’s quarterly Azure performance, with analysts highlighting the 43% cloud-revenue increase and stronger-than-expected earnings as evidence that AI demand is translating into accelerating cloud growth. Citi Raises Microsoft Stock Target to $600
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom AI chips may improve cloud economics. CEO Satya Nadella said the company’s internally developed chips can deliver efficiency gains of up to 40%. Better cost and energy efficiency could help Microsoft support AI workloads while protecting Azure margins. Microsoft Custom AI Chips Improve Efficiency
• Positive Sentiment: Azure is expanding in India. Microsoft opened a major Hyderabad data-center region and is committing approximately $20.5 billion to its Indian cloud and AI operations. Early customers include Adani Group and HDFC Bank, supporting the case for long-term international Azure growth. Microsoft Opens Largest India Data Center Hub
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and institutional support remain strong. Microsoft recently exceeded quarterly revenue and EPS expectations, while Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square holds a reported $2.4 billion MSFT position. Scotiabank also raised its fiscal 2027 EPS estimate and maintained an Outperform rating. Bill Ackman Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: AI demand is powerful but concentrated. Reports suggest OpenAI may account for a substantial portion of Microsoft’s AI sales, creating both a major growth engine and customer-concentration risk. Microsoft’s large AI backlog also does not guarantee equivalent future profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Spending, margins and valuation remain concerns. Rising data-center capital expenditures and lower cloud gross margins could pressure cash flow if AI infrastructure costs grow faster than revenue. After the sharp post-earnings rally, the stock is also more vulnerable to profit-taking or disappointing guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales and securities litigation add headline risk. CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares for roughly $4.9 million, and multiple law firms are publicizing a securities class action with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. These developments do not establish wrongdoing but may weigh on near-term sentiment.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. DZ Bank restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, 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. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $558.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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