Wealth Advisors Northwest LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 63.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,311 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,667 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 0.5% of Wealth Advisors Northwest LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Wealth Advisors Northwest LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after buying an additional 15,955,898 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,060,557,000 after acquiring an additional 6,388,930 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,056,019,000 after acquiring an additional 1,911,142 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,624,690,000 after acquiring an additional 980,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $50,664,631,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Performance
Shares of MSFT stock opened at $510.12 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $441.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $415.21. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid 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 20.27%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, August 10th. Dbs Bank dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $562.49.
Read Our Latest Analysis on MSFT
Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft will begin reporting quarterly Azure revenue in fiscal 2027 and reorganize its financial reporting from three segments into two AI-focused categories. Azure generated approximately $29.4 billion in quarterly revenue and $101.9 billion for fiscal 2026, providing investors with more visibility into cloud growth and AI demand. Microsoft to reveal Azure cloud sales in financial reporting shift
- Positive Sentiment: Citi reaffirmed a Buy rating and $600 price target, while other analysts cited Microsoft’s large AI backlog, Azure’s more than $100 billion annual revenue and the potential for improved AI economics. The company’s latest earnings also showed strong momentum, with revenue up 17.7% year over year and a substantial earnings beat. Analyst reaffirms Buy on Microsoft
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft-backed OpenAI launched GPT-6 Astra, potentially strengthening Microsoft’s AI ecosystem and demand for Azure infrastructure. Microsoft is also securing long-term power capacity for data centers and expanding Microsoft 365 Copilot integrations. OpenAI launches GPT-6 Astra
- Neutral Sentiment: CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares worth about $43.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The scheduled nature of the sale limits its significance, although it reduced his holdings by 15.09% and adds to recent insider selling.
- Negative Sentiment: Microsoft will impose monthly limits on Xbox cloud-gaming hours for Game Pass subscribers beginning in November as service costs rise. The change may improve economics but could hurt consumer sentiment and gaming engagement. Microsoft to impose time limits on Xbox cloud gaming
- Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to weigh Microsoft’s roughly $116 billion AI infrastructure spending plan, rising data-center costs and pressure on cloud margins. The key risk is whether the large backlog converts into profitable cash flow rather than simply future revenue.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was 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. Insiders have sold a total of 108,335 shares of company stock worth $53,499,700 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft 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).
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