Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s 7th Largest Position

Northstar Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 11.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 23,272 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,355 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.7% of Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.8%

MSFT stock opened at $496.82 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $438.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $414.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.66, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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 earned $3.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 108,335 shares of company stock valued at $53,499,700. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $562.49.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft will begin disclosing quarterly Azure revenue in fiscal 2027 and consolidate its reporting structure from three segments to two. The added transparency should allow investors to compare Azure more directly with Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud and could highlight the scale of AI-driven demand. Microsoft to reveal Azure cloud sales in financial reporting shift
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $500, citing accelerating Azure growth, improving AI efficiency and more than 30 million paid Microsoft 365 Copilot seats. The bullish view reinforces expectations that Microsoft can convert AI infrastructure spending into higher revenue and earnings. Microsoft’s AI strategy accelerates cloud growth and efficiency: analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding its AI ecosystem through a 20-year power agreement supporting a planned West Texas data center, a HUMAIN partnership targeting up to one million enterprise users in the Middle East and Africa, and new Microsoft 365 Copilot integrations. These agreements support long-term cloud, infrastructure and productivity growth, although near-term profitability depends on execution. Microsoft Signed a 20-Year AI Power Deal With Chevron
• Neutral Sentiment: An EU court rejected Opera’s challenge to Microsoft Edge’s exemption from certain Digital Markets Act obligations. The ruling reduces an immediate regulatory burden for Edge, but its direct financial effect is likely limited. EU court rejects Opera challenge against Microsoft’s Edge exemption
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 MSFT shares worth approximately $43.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Although scheduled sales generally do not signal a change in business outlook, the transaction reduced his position by 15.09%; broader insider activity has also consisted entirely of sales over the past six months. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Form 4 filing
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Microsoft’s roughly $116 billion in annual property and equipment spending. The AI buildout could drive substantial growth, but depreciation, power constraints and uncertain returns may pressure margins if demand fails to keep pace. Big Tech Spent Over $1 Trillion on AI
• Negative Sentiment: Additional pressure came from reports of a controversial Windows 11 feature, continuing concerns about a Microsoft 365 outage, and criticism surrounding 3,200 Xbox job cuts. These issues may weigh on user sentiment and highlight risks in Microsoft’s consumer and gaming businesses. Xbox layoffs

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).