Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Newly Purchased by LM Advisors LLC

LM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 40,679 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $15,151,000. Microsoft comprises about 1.7% of LM Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Matters Capital LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,563,000. Berry Wealth Group LP bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $1,748,000. Haverford Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $432,346,000. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $23,561,000. Finally, First Nebraska Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,339,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.9%

MSFT opened at $529.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $505.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $440.59. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was 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 directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 target price on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $589.71.

Key Stories 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.

Microsoft Company Profile

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.