Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Position Increased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 13.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,131,891 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 501,498 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.1% of First Trust Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.06% of Microsoft worth $1,529,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.0%

MSFT opened at $499.99 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $404.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $406.96. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $515.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, New Street Research reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $558.87.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its Microsoft price target to $600. The upgrade follows Microsoft’s quarterly Azure performance, with analysts highlighting the 43% cloud-revenue increase and stronger-than-expected earnings as evidence that AI demand is translating into accelerating cloud growth. Citi Raises Microsoft Stock Target to $600
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom AI chips may improve cloud economics. CEO Satya Nadella said the company’s internally developed chips can deliver efficiency gains of up to 40%. Better cost and energy efficiency could help Microsoft support AI workloads while protecting Azure margins. Microsoft Custom AI Chips Improve Efficiency
• Positive Sentiment: Azure is expanding in India. Microsoft opened a major Hyderabad data-center region and is committing approximately $20.5 billion to its Indian cloud and AI operations. Early customers include Adani Group and HDFC Bank, supporting the case for long-term international Azure growth. Microsoft Opens Largest India Data Center Hub
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and institutional support remain strong. Microsoft recently exceeded quarterly revenue and EPS expectations, while Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square holds a reported $2.4 billion MSFT position. Scotiabank also raised its fiscal 2027 EPS estimate and maintained an Outperform rating. Bill Ackman Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: AI demand is powerful but concentrated. Reports suggest OpenAI may account for a substantial portion of Microsoft’s AI sales, creating both a major growth engine and customer-concentration risk. Microsoft’s large AI backlog also does not guarantee equivalent future profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Spending, margins and valuation remain concerns. Rising data-center capital expenditures and lower cloud gross margins could pressure cash flow if AI infrastructure costs grow faster than revenue. After the sharp post-earnings rally, the stock is also more vulnerable to profit-taking or disappointing guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales and securities litigation add headline risk. CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares for roughly $4.9 million, and multiple law firms are publicizing a securities class action with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. These developments do not establish wrongdoing but may weigh on near-term sentiment.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile

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).