Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Purchased by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Key Points

• Proficio Capital Partners nearly doubled its Microsoft stake in the second quarter, acquiring 32,446 additional shares for a total holding of 65,137 shares valued at approximately $24.3 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 71.13%, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $592.15. Microsoft’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with revenue up 17.7% year over year.
• Microsoft increased its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, but executives sold shares recently and investors remain focused on whether Azure growth and AI monetization can justify heavy infrastructure spending.

Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 99.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,137 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 32,446 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 0.9% of Proficio Capital Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Proficio Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $24,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,375,360 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $24,013,297,000 after purchasing an additional 543,172 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $18,306,443,000. Amundi increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after buying an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,852,884,000 after buying an additional 2,784,809 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were 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 approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $592.15.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

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

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $524.51 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $508.51 and a 200 day moving average of $446.69. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Microsoft 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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