Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Lifted by Journey Advisory Group LLC

Key Points

• Journey Advisory Group increased its Microsoft stake by 1.3% in the second quarter to 89,712 shares valued at approximately $33.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, surpassing analyst estimates; revenue rose 17.7% year over year.
• Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $570.62. Insider selling and concerns about heavy AI infrastructure spending remain risks.

Journey Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 89,712 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.6% of Journey Advisory Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Journey Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $33,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Correct Capital Wealth Management boosted its stake in Microsoft by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Correct Capital Wealth Management now owns 17,311 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 81.9% in the 2nd quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,514 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,160,000 after purchasing an additional 7,434 shares in the last quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 72.2% in the second quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC now owns 17,515 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,534,000 after purchasing an additional 7,343 shares during the last quarter. River Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. River Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 88,060 shares of the software giant's stock worth $32,848,000 after buying an additional 3,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. raised its position in Microsoft by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 51,587 shares of the software giant's stock worth $19,042,000 after buying an additional 5,609 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $512.90 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $484.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $428.53. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.11. 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.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $610 from $550 and maintained an Overweight rating, citing improving estimates for Microsoft’s commercial cloud business and potential revenue from the new E7 enterprise licensing tier. Why is Microsoft stock up on Wednesday?
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s revamped Copilot is becoming more enterprise-focused, while usage-based billing expected to begin in November could simplify adoption and improve monetization. Analysts also see potential for paid Copilot seats to continue expanding rapidly. What a Revamped Copilot Means for Microsoft Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is bringing OpenAI’s autonomous “Dots” agents into its enterprise security and governance framework, strengthening its position in workplace AI. A long-term Xbox publishing agreement with Take-Two also supports the gaming ecosystem. Microsoft Brings OpenAI’s Autonomous Dots AI Workers Into the Enterprise
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft has delivered a substantial quarterly rally, but its valuation remains below its recent average P/E despite strong Azure growth, expanding Copilot demand and a sizable commercial backlog. This leaves room for additional upside, although expectations are already elevated. How Much Upside Is Left In Microsoft Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that surging AI infrastructure spending could outpace free cash flow before Azure and Copilot returns fully materialize. Microsoft also warns that AI agents may weaken traditional software pricing power and customer loyalty. The AI Revolution Could Be Microsoft’s Next Trillion-Dollar Opportunity

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial lowered Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Microsoft from $522.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $530.00 to $575.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $570.62.

Microsoft Company 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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