Visionary Wealth Advisors Acquires 117,678 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Visionary Wealth Advisors acquired 117,678 Microsoft shares worth approximately $43.9 million, making Microsoft its 11th-largest holding and representing about 1.7% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue up 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $589.71, while the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98.
• Investors are weighing Microsoft’s AI and Azure expansion against rising infrastructure costs, potential margin pressure and U.K. regulatory scrutiny. Meanwhile, executives sold shares recently, including EVP Takeshi Numoto and CEO Judson Althoff.

Visionary Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 117,678 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $43,896,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.7% of Visionary Wealth Advisors' investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in Microsoft by 4.0% in the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant's stock worth $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 8,773 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $199,014,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after buying an additional 537,634 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 138.8% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $502,077,000 after buying an additional 788,297 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Microsoft to remain the only major hyperscaler with positive free cash flow over the next year despite heavy AI investment. This reinforces confidence that the company can fund data-center expansion without substantial external financing. Microsoft Free Cash Flow Expected to Remain Positive
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement with NiSource for approximately 1,100 megawatts of power for an Indiana data-center campus beginning in 2028. Securing electricity supports future Azure capacity as grid constraints become a bottleneck for AI expansion. Microsoft Signs Power Deal With NiSource
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom Maia AI chips and reports that a new model achieved comparable or better performance than OpenAI’s system using a fraction of the computing power could eventually reduce reliance on expensive third-party GPUs and improve AI economics. Microsoft Wants to Make AI Cheaper
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization and capital expenditures ahead of earnings. Strong demand could support the shares, but the market wants evidence that revenue growth is translating into sustainable margins.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority is investigating Microsoft’s grip on business software and says Microsoft and Amazon Web Services may need to do more to address cloud-service barriers. Potential remedies could increase compliance costs or weaken customer-lock-in advantages. UK Regulator Targets Microsoft’s Business Software Grip
• Negative Sentiment: Questions remain over whether custom chips will deliver meaningful savings: AI infrastructure, power and data-center commitments are rising rapidly, while Microsoft is reportedly seeking substantial cost reductions in Azure. That creates concern about near-term free-cash-flow and margin pressure.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm'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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.9%

Microsoft stock opened at $529.05 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $505.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $440.59. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Argus reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Melius Research set a $665.00 price target on shares of Microsoft and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Forty-two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $589.71.

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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