Vest Financial LLC Purchases 49,178 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Vest Financial increased its Microsoft stake by 16.5% in the second quarter, acquiring 49,178 additional shares for a total holding of 347,843 shares valued at approximately $129.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, beating analyst expectations. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 43 Buy ratings and a consensus price target of $569.29, citing Azure and AI monetization opportunities. However, insider selling, Xbox restructuring, and concerns about AI infrastructure costs pose potential risks.

Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 16.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 347,843 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 49,178 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 1.4% of Vest Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $129,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $112,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC now owns 422 shares of the software giant's stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel upgraded Microsoft to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $575 from $530. The analyst expects Azure, Copilot and other AI services to accelerate revenue while Microsoft maintains resilient margins without needing excessive spending on AI models. Microsoft upgraded as analyst sees steady margins
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft plans to invest more than $10 billion in the Gulf through 2030, funding cloud and AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, connectivity and workforce development across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. The spending expands Azure’s international capacity and could create long-term commercial opportunities. Microsoft plans Gulf investment
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization remains the central bullish thesis. Microsoft is pursuing broader Copilot adoption, including discounts of roughly 30% to 50% for large enterprise customers, while management highlights independent AI safety evaluators and software that controls AI agents as emerging opportunities. Microsoft plans larger Copilot discounts
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft and Coinbase disrupted an AI-enabled phishing network, reinforcing Microsoft’s cybersecurity credentials. However, the operation does not eliminate the persistent economic incentive for criminals to compromise accounts. Microsoft cuts AI phishing supply chain
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s collaboration with Photonic on quantum-computing resource estimation and its decision to give DARPA access to its Majorana 2 system enhance its technology and government relationships, but these projects are unlikely to affect near-term earnings. Microsoft opens quantum system to DARPA testing
• Negative Sentiment: Xbox is cutting 268 positions and transferring the next Halo game to Activision as part of a gaming restructuring. The move may improve efficiency but raises concerns about Microsoft’s gaming execution and follows recent layoffs. Microsoft cuts Xbox roles
• Negative Sentiment: Broader technology stocks weakened, while scrutiny of data-center water consumption and Microsoft’s heavy AI infrastructure spending adds to concerns about costs, regulation and execution.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $500.59 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $473.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.91. The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month 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.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. The company's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Microsoft from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $510.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $569.29.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.

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