Range Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 55.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,157 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 8,245 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.0% of Range Advisory LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Range Advisory LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,272 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 3.8% in the second quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC now owns 687 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Mann Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.3% in the second quarter. Mann Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,921 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $717,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the first quarter. Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC now owns 5,543 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,052,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $608.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Yorkville Ives initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $615.00 target price on the stock. Argus decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Citizens Jmp increased their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $609.54.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT
Microsoft Trading Down 2.8%
NASDAQ MSFT opened at $507.12 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $513.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $438.62. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $551.15. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.10.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.46%.
Microsoft News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Azure and AI demand remain the key bullish catalysts. Recent coverage highlights Azure revenue growth of 48%, above Microsoft’s 44%–45% forecast, with demand reportedly exceeding available capacity. Strong cloud growth, expanding Copilot adoption, and a reported $677 billion contract backlog support the view that Microsoft can monetize its AI investments. Microsoft Delivers Strong Azure Growth as AI Demand Exceeds Supply
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts and long-term investors continue to favor Microsoft’s scale and financial quality. Commentary points to Microsoft’s high-margin Azure platform, OpenAI partnership, prudent infrastructure expansion, and durable competitive position. Bill Ackman and other investors continue to view MSFT as a long-term compounder, while Microsoft’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations with revenue up 18.8% year over year to $92.28 billion and EPS of $4.89. Microsoft’s Prudent Approach to the AI Infrastructure Buildout
- Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding enterprise AI relationships. Estée Lauder selected Microsoft’s cloud, data, and AI tools to unify data and support personalized customer experiences. The deal reinforces Azure’s enterprise relevance, although its financial contribution to Microsoft was not disclosed. Estée Lauder Partners With Microsoft on AI and Data Tools
- Negative Sentiment: AI financing and cash-flow concerns are weighing on mega-cap technology stocks. Microsoft’s roughly $25 billion bond offering and heavy data-center spending have prompted debate about leverage and returns on AI infrastructure. Recent coverage notes that free cash flow fell to about $18.6 billion as capital expenditures increased, making investors more sensitive to execution and funding risks. AI Bond Funding Might Change the Case for Investing in Microsoft
- Negative Sentiment: Market-wide technology weakness amplified the pressure. The Nasdaq declined as investors reassessed expensive AI-linked stocks, while Oracle’s $10 billion debt sale revived concerns that aggressive AI buildouts may require substantial borrowing. Microsoft’s strong balance sheet and low debt-to-equity ratio distinguish it from weaker peers, but the sector-wide risk-off move still affected MSFT. Oracle Declines as AI Debt Worries Return
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 145,504 shares of company stock worth $73,016,924 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
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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