Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Cut by Brown Financial Advisors

Key Points

• Brown Financial Advisors reduced its Microsoft stake by 15.1% in the second quarter, selling 2,341 shares and retaining 13,169 shares valued at approximately $4.9 million. Microsoft represents about 1.7% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial at 71.13%, while Microsoft insiders sold roughly 150,314 shares worth $75.4 million over the past three months, including significant sales by CEOs Satya Nadella and Judson Althoff.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue of $92.28 billion and EPS of $4.89, helped by 48% Azure growth. However, investors continue to monitor the company’s heavy AI spending, rising infrastructure costs, potential margin pressure and new debt financing.

Brown Financial Advisors lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,169 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,341 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 1.7% of Brown Financial Advisors' investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Brown Financial Advisors' holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kirkwood Financial Services bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $382,000. Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,865,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $568,281,000. Financial Insights Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% during the second quarter. Financial Insights Inc. now owns 46,108 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $17,199,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Serenity Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Serenity Investment Advisors now owns 3,402 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft delivered a strong fiscal first quarter, with revenue of $92.28 billion and EPS of $4.89, both above expectations. Azure revenue surged 48%, while Microsoft Cloud revenue rose 30%, reinforcing the view that AI demand is translating into meaningful cloud growth. Microsoft Earnings Expose a Growing Divide in the Magnificent 7 AI Trade
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued second-quarter revenue guidance of $96.0 billion to $97.1 billion, above the $95.7 billion consensus estimate. Analysts responded with multiple price-target increases, including targets of $630 to $680, and Wolfe Research upgraded the stock to “strong buy.”
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s strong cash generation and diversified enterprise business continue to distinguish it from rivals facing sharper cash-flow concerns. Analysts argue that Azure, Copilot, AI agents and Microsoft’s security products provide several ways to monetize AI. The expanded Estée Lauder partnership, which will extend Copilot to more than 14,000 employees, offers another example of enterprise adoption. Estée Lauder and Microsoft Strategic Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s voluntary exit offer for approximately 60,000 employees may improve productivity and redirect resources toward AI, but it also highlights a significant restructuring as the company shifts toward more automated, equipment-intensive operations. Microsoft’s 60,000-Person Buyout Offer
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Microsoft’s capital intensity. The company plans roughly $170 billion of AI-related capital spending, while also arranging a $25 billion bond sale—the first major U.S. debt offering since 2017—to fund its buildout. Rising borrowing costs increase scrutiny of future AI returns. Microsoft Plans to Raise $25 Billion in Debt
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly capital spending was below analyst expectations because third-party AI-chip and data-center capacity was delayed, pushing some capacity into the first half of 2027. While management described this as a supply issue rather than weaker demand, the miss hurt AI infrastructure suppliers and revived concerns about the pace of expansion.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s cloud gross margin is reportedly narrowing as chip, power, data-center and labor costs rise. With the Nasdaq 100 down sharply during October amid fears of an AI spending bubble, investors are demanding proof that Microsoft’s large backlog will convert into profitable cash flow—not merely future revenue.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $521.91 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $551.15. The company's fifty day moving average price is $512.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $438.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.79 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Melius Research raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $665.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $630.00 target price (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp set a $625.00 target price on Microsoft in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.54.

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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