Northstar Advisory Group LLC Acquires 2,355 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Northstar Advisory Group increased its Microsoft holdings by 11.3% in the second quarter, purchasing 2,355 additional shares for a total of 23,272 shares valued at approximately $8.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 42 Buy ratings and five Holds; Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $562.49.
• Microsoft exceeded quarterly expectations with $4.74 in adjusted EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 17.7% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, representing a 0.7% yield.

Northstar Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,272 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.7% of Northstar Advisory Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Northstar Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter worth $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 500.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock worth $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Microsoft from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $562.49.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $496.82 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $438.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $414.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The firm's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft will begin disclosing quarterly Azure revenue in fiscal 2027 and consolidate its reporting structure from three segments to two. The added transparency should allow investors to compare Azure more directly with Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud and could highlight the scale of AI-driven demand. Microsoft to reveal Azure cloud sales in financial reporting shift
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $500, citing accelerating Azure growth, improving AI efficiency and more than 30 million paid Microsoft 365 Copilot seats. The bullish view reinforces expectations that Microsoft can convert AI infrastructure spending into higher revenue and earnings. Microsoft's AI strategy accelerates cloud growth and efficiency: analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding its AI ecosystem through a 20-year power agreement supporting a planned West Texas data center, a HUMAIN partnership targeting up to one million enterprise users in the Middle East and Africa, and new Microsoft 365 Copilot integrations. These agreements support long-term cloud, infrastructure and productivity growth, although near-term profitability depends on execution. Microsoft Signed a 20-Year AI Power Deal With Chevron
• Neutral Sentiment: An EU court rejected Opera’s challenge to Microsoft Edge’s exemption from certain Digital Markets Act obligations. The ruling reduces an immediate regulatory burden for Edge, but its direct financial effect is likely limited. EU court rejects Opera challenge against Microsoft's Edge exemption
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 MSFT shares worth approximately $43.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Although scheduled sales generally do not signal a change in business outlook, the transaction reduced his position by 15.09%; broader insider activity has also consisted entirely of sales over the past six months. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Form 4 filing
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Microsoft’s roughly $116 billion in annual property and equipment spending. The AI buildout could drive substantial growth, but depreciation, power constraints and uncertain returns may pressure margins if demand fails to keep pace. Big Tech Spent Over $1 Trillion on AI
• Negative Sentiment: Additional pressure came from reports of a controversial Windows 11 feature, continuing concerns about a Microsoft 365 outage, and criticism surrounding 3,200 Xbox job cuts. These issues may weigh on user sentiment and highlight risks in Microsoft’s consumer and gaming businesses. Xbox layoffs

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 108,335 shares of company stock valued at $53,499,700. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Microsoft

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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