MSA Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• MSA Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 6.7% in the first quarter, now holding 40,440 shares valued at approximately $15.18 million.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Microsoft's future, with multiple firms raising their target prices, including Bank of America from $585.00 to $640.00, and the average target price currently at $612.54.
• CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares at an average price of $504.78, resulting in a total sale value of approximately $75.32 million, which decreased his ownership by 15.87%.

MSA Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,440 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 2,540 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.9% of MSA Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. MSA Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.54.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $498.20 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The stock's 50 day moving average is $509.95 and its 200-day moving average is $451.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.52, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.

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