Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Acquires 5,609 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Symphony Financial increased its Microsoft stake by 12.2% in the second quarter, acquiring 5,609 shares for a total of 51,587 shares valued at approximately $19.04 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue rose 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $569.29. However, insiders—including CEO Satya Nadella—have sold shares, and investors remain focused on AI spending, valuation and potential privacy and competitive risks.

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. lifted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 12.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,587 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 5,609 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 2.1% of Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth 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. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 234.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,822,280 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,619,211,000 after purchasing an additional 12,493,786 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in Microsoft by 30.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after purchasing an additional 9,814,598 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Microsoft by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,982,083,000 after purchasing an additional 9,493,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 38,442.1% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,810,388 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,521,001,000 after purchasing an additional 6,792,718 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1%

MSFT opened at $508.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $482.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $427.75. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Forty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $569.29.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Copilot remains the primary catalyst. Jefferies reiterated its bullish view, citing Microsoft’s redesigned Copilot, new usage-based revenue opportunities and potential for paid Copilot seats to double over the next year. Enterprise AI adoption, however, is expected to build gradually. Jefferies Doubles Down on Microsoft's Copilot Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see further upside. JPMorgan maintained a Buy rating with a $625 target, while RBC reportedly set a $640 target, supported by Azure growth, Copilot adoption and Microsoft’s expanding AI infrastructure. The stock is also on track for its strongest quarterly performance in decades, reflecting a market “flight to quality.” Microsoft Stock Surges Past $500
• Positive Sentiment: Azure and enterprise demand support the long-term case. Recent commentary points to Azure growth above 40%, rapidly increasing Copilot seats and a commercial backlog approaching $700 billion. Microsoft is also bringing OpenAI’s autonomous “Dots” AI workers into its enterprise security ecosystem, potentially expanding cloud and software consumption. Microsoft Brings OpenAI's Autonomous Dots AI Workers Into the Enterprise
• Neutral Sentiment: AI policy developments remain mixed. President Trump reaffirmed support for data centers and announced voluntary AI controls with Microsoft and other technology companies, potentially easing regulatory concerns while leaving uncertainty over whether voluntary safeguards will be sufficient. At A.I. Event, Trump Asks Meta, OpenAI and Microsoft to Make Safety Decisions Themselves
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy and competitive risks are weighing on sentiment. Reports that humans may review some Copilot prompts have raised data-privacy concerns. OpenAI is also launching workplace features that increasingly resemble Microsoft Office, intensifying the risk that a key partner could compete directly with Microsoft’s software franchise. OpenAI Takes on Microsoft With a ChatGPT Office Suite
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are questioning the cost and valuation of the AI buildout. Microsoft is reducing staff while committing heavily to data centers, and some analysts argue that cash-flow benefits may take longer to materialize. After its rally, elevated expectations leave less room for execution setbacks.

About Microsoft

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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