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SSI Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,643 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $2,478,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $85,604,000 after acquiring an additional 8,773 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $199,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 8.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,562,197,000 after purchasing an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its stake in Microsoft by 138.8% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $502,077,000 after purchasing an additional 788,297 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft 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 owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus dropped their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Melius Research set a $665.00 price objective on Microsoft and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.73. View Our Latest Report on MSFT

Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of MSFT stock opened at $535.07 on Monday. 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 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $501.15 and its 200 day moving average is $435.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. 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 payout ratio is 20.27%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

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.

See Also Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Stocks Chopped in Half: Why These Drops May Be Structural, Not a Dip Home Depot and Lowe’s Hit 52-Week Lows—But Analysts Aren’t Giving Up Utilities Are Bouncing Back—These 2 Giants Could Signal the Next Big Sector Rally Q3 Earnings Could Blow Past Consensus—Be Ready for What Comes Next

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Strategic Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,712 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $639,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.5% of Strategic Advisory Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.0% in the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 8,773 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $199,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,562,197,000 after purchasing an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in Microsoft by 138.8% in the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $502,077,000 after purchasing an additional 788,297 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $535.07 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $501.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $435.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year. Microsoft Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $578.73.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft

Insider Buying and Selling In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

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.

See Also Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Stocks Chopped in Half: Why These Drops May Be Structural, Not a Dip Home Depot and Lowe’s Hit 52-Week Lows—But Analysts Aren’t Giving Up Utilities Are Bouncing Back—These 2 Giants Could Signal the Next Big Sector Rally Q3 Earnings Could Blow Past Consensus—Be Ready for What Comes Next Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

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one8zero8 LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 40,971 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $15,283,000. Microsoft makes up 3.0% of one8zero8 LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% during the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $85,604,000 after buying an additional 8,773 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $199,014,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 8.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after acquiring an additional 537,634 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 138.8% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $502,077,000 after acquiring an additional 788,297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance NASDAQ MSFT opened at $535.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $501.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $435.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year. Microsoft Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Microsoft from $522.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft

Microsoft News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Insider Transactions at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft (Free Report)

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.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Stocks Chopped in Half: Why These Drops May Be Structural, Not a Dip Home Depot and Lowe’s Hit 52-Week Lows—But Analysts Aren’t Giving Up Utilities Are Bouncing Back—These 2 Giants Could Signal the Next Big Sector Rally Q3 Earnings Could Blow Past Consensus—Be Ready for What Comes Next

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 39,783 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $14,840,000. Microsoft makes up 1.2% of Shepherd Financial Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,426,862,000 after buying an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Microsoft by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,852,884,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784,809 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,715,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,412 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after acquiring an additional 9,493,778 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus dropped their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. CLSA restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Forty-two equities 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $578.73.

View Our Latest Report on Microsoft Microsoft News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Microsoft Stock Performance NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $535.07 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $501.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $435.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insider Activity In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% 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 Microsoft 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Microsoft (Free Report)

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.

Featured Stories Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Stocks Chopped in Half: Why These Drops May Be Structural, Not a Dip Home Depot and Lowe’s Hit 52-Week Lows—But Analysts Aren’t Giving Up Utilities Are Bouncing Back—These 2 Giants Could Signal the Next Big Sector Rally Q3 Earnings Could Blow Past Consensus—Be Ready for What Comes Next

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Planning Directions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,232 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,205,000. Microsoft comprises about 0.6% of Planning Directions Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,426,862,000 after purchasing an additional 9,814,598 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Microsoft by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,852,884,000 after buying an additional 2,784,809 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Microsoft by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after buying an additional 9,493,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,715,379,000 after buying an additional 1,599,412 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $535.07 on Monday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $501.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $435.10. The company has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial cut Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. UBS Group downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Microsoft from a “market outperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $578.73.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft

Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Stocks Chopped in Half: Why These Drops May Be Structural, Not a Dip Home Depot and Lowe’s Hit 52-Week Lows—But Analysts Aren’t Giving Up Utilities Are Bouncing Back—These 2 Giants Could Signal the Next Big Sector Rally Q3 Earnings Could Blow Past Consensus—Be Ready for What Comes Next Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

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Uptick Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 19,084 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $7,119,000. Microsoft makes up about 1.1% of Uptick Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 234.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,822,280 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,619,211,000 after acquiring an additional 12,493,786 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Microsoft by 30.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,426,862,000 after purchasing an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Microsoft by 64.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,982,083,000 after purchasing an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 38,442.1% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,810,388 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,521,001,000 after purchasing an additional 6,792,718 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes Several research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 21st. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Read Our Latest Analysis on MSFT Microsoft Price Performance MSFT stock opened at $535.07 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $501.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $435.10. 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 $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) 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 19.65 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Insider Activity In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade 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 90 days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Stocks Chopped in Half: Why These Drops May Be Structural, Not a Dip Home Depot and Lowe’s Hit 52-Week Lows—But Analysts Aren’t Giving Up Utilities Are Bouncing Back—These 2 Giants Could Signal the Next Big Sector Rally Q3 Earnings Could Blow Past Consensus—Be Ready for What Comes Next

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,749 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,000. Microsoft accounts for about 0.7% of Addison Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after buying an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,852,884,000 after buying an additional 2,784,809 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Microsoft by 64.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,982,083,000 after buying an additional 9,493,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,715,379,000 after buying an additional 1,599,412 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $535.07 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $501.15 and a 200 day moving average of $435.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several brokerages have commented on MSFT. Citigroup upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “market outperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial downgraded Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft

Insider Buying and Selling In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Microsoft (Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Stocks Chopped in Half: Why These Drops May Be Structural, Not a Dip Home Depot and Lowe’s Hit 52-Week Lows—But Analysts Aren’t Giving Up Utilities Are Bouncing Back—These 2 Giants Could Signal the Next Big Sector Rally Q3 Earnings Could Blow Past Consensus—Be Ready for What Comes Next

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Protiviti is honored by Microsoft for a second consecutive year for achieving outstanding sales achievement and innovation. 

, /PRNewswire/ -- Protiviti, a global consulting firm, has been selected for the Microsoft AI Business Solutions 2026-2027 Inner Circle membership. This is Protiviti's second consecutive year of being selected into Inner Circle. Participation within Inner Circle is based on sales achievements that rank Protiviti in the top echelon of Microsoft's AI Business Solutions global network of partners. It's widely acknowledged that Inner Circle members perform at a high level by delivering valuable and innovative solutions that help organizations excel.

Inner Circle members are invited to the Inner Circle Summit in Spring 2027, as well as virtual meetings between September 2026 and June 2027, where they will have a unique opportunity to discuss strategy with Microsoft executives and fellow Inner Circle partners, while learning more about the Microsoft's road maps and future plans, establish strong executive connections, and collaborate on best practices.

"Inner Circle partners represent our top selling partners worldwide. But it is more than a sales recognition; it's a community of industry leaders who work closely with Microsoft to accelerate innovation, share experience and shape the future of AI-powered business transformation. The collaboration and commitment to customer success demonstrated by this community helps us advance the entire AI Business Solutions partner ecosystem around the world to deliver transformative business outcomes at scale." said Niels Jensen, Microsoft AI Business Solutions ERP Lead in Enterprise Partner Solutions.

"Being recognized within Microsoft's AI Business Solutions Inner Circle for a second year reflects the strength of our global capabilities and our shared commitment to client success," Tom Andreesen, Global Microsoft Solutions Lead, Protiviti, said. "In collaboration with Microsoft, we are helping organizations worldwide harness Microsoft Dynamics 365, Copilot and AI solutions to modernize operations, accelerate innovation and deliver sustainable business value."  

Protiviti provides AI-enabled solutions that help customers achieve a competitive advantage by identifying and transforming key processes that improve business outcomes. By collaborating with the teams at Microsoft, Protiviti maintains a strong expertise of the Microsoft platform to provide innovative solutions, strong services and unparalleled business value to their customers.

About Protiviti

Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that helps clients transform and protect their businesses, and respond to planned and unexpected events. Through a network of more than 90 offices in over 25 countries, Protiviti and its independent and locally owned member firms deliver deep expertise and tailored capabilities across technology, artificial intelligence, data, operations, finance, legal, compliance, HR, marketing, digital, risk, and internal audit — enabling organizations to accelerate innovation, navigate risks and safeguard what matters most.

Named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list since 2015, Protiviti Inc. has served more than 80 percent of Fortune 100 and nearly 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies. The firm also works with government agencies and smaller, growing companies, including those looking to go public. Protiviti Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half (NYSE: RHI).

SOURCE Protiviti

Artificial intelligence is less regulated than milk and washing machines, the president of Microsoft has said, as the tech industry warns over the safety of AI.

Brad Smith said there should be more safety rules to govern the technology including a legal obligation to a “victim” if their system was breached by rogue AI agents.

He told the BBC: “Right now, your washing machine is subject to more safety rules than AI. Every carton of milk that you see in the grocery store is subject to safety rules and inspection.”

There are growing calls from experts, politicians and regulators for tougher rules to control AI, as well as warnings from Anthropic, Google DeepMind and OpenAI that the pace of the technology’s development should slow.

Smith said AI could be a “tool and a weapon” that should be regulated urgently.

Companies needed “emergency brakes”, also known as “kill switches”, to pause or slow down AI if it grew out of control, he told the BBC.

Brad Smith also called for ‘kill switches’ to pause or slow down AI if it grew out of control. Photograph: Virginia Mayo/APMicrosoft, which operates AI infrastructure and is a shareholder in the ChatGPT owner, OpenAI, is led by chief executive Satya Nadella. On Saturday, Nadella also called for AI models to have an “emergency brake”.

He wrote: “We can’t treat super intelligence as a set of nested black boxes and simply accept or reject its recommendations, answers, and actions.

“We must build contained systems whose behaviour we can observe, limits we can test, and actions we can always contain.”

His and Smith’s comments came as Britain’s AI minister, Kanishka Narayan, prepared to call on firms developing frontier AI to do more to make sure it is safe.

In a speech on Monday, Narayan is expected to say companies building AI models should do more to deal with risk and build better safeguards. He will also say the UK government is preparing to legislate to increase oversight of AI, according to reports.

Experts have said enemy states could also steal unreleased, powerful AI models. Geoffrey Irving, a former chief scientist at the UK’s AI Security Institute, said that AI companies did “not have security that would prevent an adversarial country from stealing the models”.

Meanwhile, cases of rogue AI behaviour continue to come to light. Last week, Anthropic revealed that when it was testing a version of its Claude model, the AI contacted police and falsely claimed it could help solve a murder.

Microsoft's CEO says companies should assume powerful artificial intelligence models could be compromised and create an “emergency brake” to rein them in. In comments posted to X on Saturday (Oct. 10) Satya Nadella argued that it is not enough to depend on assurances from the makers of AI models.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 994,052 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $370,802,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.8% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 234.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,822,280 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,619,211,000 after purchasing an additional 12,493,786 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Microsoft by 30.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after buying an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Microsoft by 64.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after buying an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 38,442.1% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,810,388 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,521,001,000 after buying an additional 6,792,718 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week: Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. CLSA reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Microsoft

Microsoft Price Performance Microsoft stock opened at $535.07 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $501.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $434.73. 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 has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

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.

Recommended Stories Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Unique ETFs With Strong Momentum for the End of the Year 3 Beaten-Down Biotech Stocks With Triple-Digit Upside and Big Catalysts Ahead Schneider Just Paid Up for PTC—Is the SaaSpocalypse Overdone? Delta Air Lines Faces a Fuel Crisis—But There’s a Silver Lining Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

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Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 30,298 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $11,302,000. Microsoft accounts for 5.7% of Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Frankly Finances LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 37.4% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $60,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 34.2% in the second quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $101,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents 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 a total of 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week: Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Melius Research set a $665.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $578.73.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MSFT

Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $535.07 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $501.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $434.73. The company has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

About Microsoft (Free Report)

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.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Unique ETFs With Strong Momentum for the End of the Year 3 Beaten-Down Biotech Stocks With Triple-Digit Upside and Big Catalysts Ahead Schneider Just Paid Up for PTC—Is the SaaSpocalypse Overdone? Delta Air Lines Faces a Fuel Crisis—But There’s a Silver Lining Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

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Smith Partners Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,816 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,000. Microsoft comprises about 1.1% of Smith Partners Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Frankly Finances LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $60,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $101,000. Finally, Glynn Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 34.2% during the second quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Argus dropped their target price on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Microsoft from a “market outperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.73. Get Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT

Microsoft News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Microsoft Stock Up 2.4% Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $535.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $501.15 and a 200-day moving average of $434.73.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Unique ETFs With Strong Momentum for the End of the Year 3 Beaten-Down Biotech Stocks With Triple-Digit Upside and Big Catalysts Ahead Schneider Just Paid Up for PTC—Is the SaaSpocalypse Overdone? Delta Air Lines Faces a Fuel Crisis—But There’s a Silver Lining Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report)’s share price was up 2.4% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $537.22 and last traded at $535.07. 17,817,935 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 34,348,801 shares. The stock had previously closed at $522.61.

More Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. UBS Group lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Evercore raised Microsoft from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft 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 50 day simple moving average of $501.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $434.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Insider Activity In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 value 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. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Montgomery Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company Profile (Get Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Unique ETFs With Strong Momentum for the End of the Year 3 Beaten-Down Biotech Stocks With Triple-Digit Upside and Big Catalysts Ahead Schneider Just Paid Up for PTC—Is the SaaSpocalypse Overdone? Delta Air Lines Faces a Fuel Crisis—But There’s a Silver Lining Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Altiora Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,040 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $2,626,000. Microsoft comprises about 0.4% of Altiora Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,426,862,000 after purchasing an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,852,884,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784,809 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Microsoft by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after purchasing an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,715,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,412 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.4% NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $535.07 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. 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 capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $501.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $434.73. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 20.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial lowered Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $578.73.

View Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

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.

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Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 143,099 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $19,981,000. Microsoft comprises 2.3% of Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in Microsoft by 30.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,426,862,000 after purchasing an additional 9,814,598 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,852,884,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784,809 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,715,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,982,083,000 after purchasing an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of MSFT stock opened at $535.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $501.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $434.73. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. 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 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. 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. Morgan Stanley cut Microsoft from an “overweight” rating to a “negative” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $578.73.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT

Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

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.

Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Unique ETFs With Strong Momentum for the End of the Year 3 Beaten-Down Biotech Stocks With Triple-Digit Upside and Big Catalysts Ahead Schneider Just Paid Up for PTC—Is the SaaSpocalypse Overdone? Delta Air Lines Faces a Fuel Crisis—But There’s a Silver Lining

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Ackerman Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,136 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $424,000. Microsoft makes up 0.3% of Ackerman Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $85,604,000 after buying an additional 8,773 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $199,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 8.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after acquiring an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 138.8% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $502,077,000 after purchasing an additional 788,297 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of MSFT stock opened at $535.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $501.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $434.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.98 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Microsoft from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $578.73.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft

Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

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.

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Act Two Investors LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 143,167 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $53,404,000. Microsoft accounts for 10.8% of Act Two Investors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 37.4% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $60,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 34.2% during the second quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $101,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.4% MSFT stock opened at $535.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $501.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $434.73.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Microsoft Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. CLSA restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $578.73.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft

More Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Insider Transactions at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

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.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Unique ETFs With Strong Momentum for the End of the Year 3 Beaten-Down Biotech Stocks With Triple-Digit Upside and Big Catalysts Ahead Schneider Just Paid Up for PTC—Is the SaaSpocalypse Overdone? Delta Air Lines Faces a Fuel Crisis—But There’s a Silver Lining

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Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 30,780 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $11,482,000. Microsoft comprises about 7.1% of Chancellor Financial Group WB LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $370,802,000. Balanced Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $692,000. Avaii Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $925,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $4,922,000. Finally, Vista Cima Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $4,226,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value 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. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week: Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Microsoft Stock Up 2.4% Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $535.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $501.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $434.73. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS 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 company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The company also recently announced 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 is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Melius Research set a $665.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $578.73.

Get Our Latest Research Report on MSFT

Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

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.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Microsoft 3 Unique ETFs With Strong Momentum for the End of the Year 3 Beaten-Down Biotech Stocks With Triple-Digit Upside and Big Catalysts Ahead Schneider Just Paid Up for PTC—Is the SaaSpocalypse Overdone? Delta Air Lines Faces a Fuel Crisis—But There’s a Silver Lining

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Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella on Saturday called for advanced artificial intelligence systems to be built with containment, independent controls and an “emergency brake” that lets authorized people pause or shut a model down mid-task.

“We need to surround non-deterministic models with strong, deterministic system design, human controls, and reliable operating procedures, and establish industry standards where existing ones are insufficient,” Nadella wrote in a post on social media platform X.

“Treating frontier closed and open weight models like insider risks is a way to build such a system,” he said.

Nadella’s comments come amid warnings from top tech executives and researchers — including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — about insufficient AI safety protocols and claims that the technology is moving too fast.

An AI researcher quit Anthropic last month and accused the company, and its chief rival, OpenAI, of “gambling with our lives.” Later that day, an alignment lead at Anthropic focused on AI safety said there’s a greater than 10% chance that the technology could “kill all humans” within the next decade.

Conversely, President Donald Trump has repeatedly dismissed AI extinction risks and has instead emphasized that the industry needs to stay ahead of China. Trump also recently introduced a new “AI Force,” led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, to help facilitate the industry and root out bad actors. 

Microsoft’s Nadella wrote Saturday that AI systems should be designed around “principles of observability.”

They include model diversity; a human-readable footprint of the model’s actions; continuous system testing; independent controls and auditability; containment; and incident disclosure, Nadella wrote.

“The most trustworthy Super Intelligence system will not be the one with the model we trust most,” he wrote. “It will be the one that enables us to trust the model the least.”

As the Trump administration announced Thursday that it suspended eight tech companies from sponsoring foreign workers for green cards, Vice President JD Vance singled out Microsoft, claiming it replaced the 6,000 workers it laid off in 2025 with people on H-1B work visas.

The suspension of the Labor Department's PERM program for green cards, which grant permanent residency to immigrants, doesn't affect H-1Bs, which are temporary work permits, but H-1B approval data shows how heavily these companies rely on foreign workers.

Data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' H-1B Employer Data Hub also shows that Amazon and Meta were the biggest sponsors of H-1B visas, and neither was suspended.

The crackdown went beyond tech. At the same news conference Thursday, the Labor Department's inspector general, Anthony D'Esposito, announced an investigation into alleged J-1 visa fraud involving nine major American universities. Trump supporters have long argued that these programs undercut American workers by incentivizing employers to hire from abroad.

Who's on the listAll eight suspended companies rank among the nation's top 50 H-1B sponsors. Most are IT services and consulting firms. Adobe is the smallest, at No. 45.

The biggest sponsor wasn't suspendedAmazon, with 19,178 H-1B approvals in fiscal 2025, and Meta, with 6,294, were the top two sponsors, and neither was suspended. Microsoft was a close third with 6,258, according to the USCIS data hub. Microsoft out-sponsored Amazon for years. Amazon passed Microsoft in 2017 and now gets about three times as many approvals.

If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants. ... Microsoft is a great American company, and we have a great relationship with them.

JD Vance

Vice President of the United States

What the numbers showThe numbers cut both ways. Microsoft did receive more than 6,000 H-1B approvals last year, as Vance said. But 2 in 3 went to people already working there. Amazon, which brought in nearly four times as many H-1B workers new to the company, was not on the suspension list.

We recorded this week's GeekWire Podcast at Front Burner Studios near Pike Place Market with co-owner Seth Paul, CEO of security startup Qinsay.

Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 19.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,099 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 3,671 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.8% of Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Gould Capital LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 19.9% in the second quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 12,223 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,560,000 after buying an additional 2,029 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.6% during the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 169,135 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $63,091,000 after acquiring an additional 7,479 shares during the last quarter. Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $328,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.2% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 273,833 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $102,145,000 after acquiring an additional 13,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. now owns 6,814 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1 Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation Insiders Place Their Bets In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Analyst Ratings Changes MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $578.73.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft

Microsoft Trading Up 2.4% Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $535.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $501.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $434.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

About Microsoft (Free Report)

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.

Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft Alphabet Introduces Gemini Agent—Can It Trigger a Breakout? Palantir’s Rally Puts Wall Street in Catch-Up Mode Ahead of November Earnings Tilray Finds a Path to Growth Without Waiting on U.S. Cannabis Reform Arista Networks Plugs Into All-Time Highs Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

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President Trump applauds the six recipients of this year’s National Medals of Science and National Medals of Technology and Innovation on Thursday in Washington, D.C. Five were born outside the U.S., including Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, far left. (White House Video Screenshot) Satya Nadella arrived in the U.S. from India in 1988 to study computer science. Over the next three decades, he went from a temporary work visa to permanent residency to American citizenship, and rose up the ranks at Microsoft to become only the third CEO in its history.

“I don’t think my story would be possible anywhere else,” Nadella wrote in his 2017 book, “Hit Refresh.” “I am proud today to call myself an American citizen.”

On Thursday, President Trump personally handed the Microsoft CEO the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. The award cited his “transformative leadership of a critical American technology company, which led to its rejuvenation for a new era of cloud computing.”

Nadella thanked Trump on X, writing that he was “humbled to stand alongside so many giants of American innovation.” The other honorees were Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell, who also received the technology medal; and Elon Musk, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and AMD CEO Lisa Su, who received the National Medal of Science.

Five of the six were born outside the country.

Hours earlier, the Trump administration had suspended Microsoft from the federal program it uses to help foreign workers take the same path to permanent residency. Vice President JD Vance said the company had abused the system by laying off American workers while hiring foreign workers, and called H-1B workers “foreign indentured servants.”

Vice President JD Vance speaks at a White House news conference on visa fraud Thursday as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, center, and Attorney General Todd Blanche, right, look on. (White House Video Screenshot) “Our message to Microsoft is you’re a great American company, but you’ve got to hire great American workers,” Vance said at a White House news conference.

Two different programs: The suspension doesn’t stop Microsoft from hiring foreign workers on H-1B visas. Those are temporary work visas, typically granted for three years at a time and generally limited to six years, with some exceptions. They’re overseen by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Amazon is the bigger user of H-1B visas. It received more than 19,000 approvals for H-1B petitions in fiscal 2025, about three times Microsoft’s total, according to an analysis of USCIS data by the National Foundation for American Policy. The totals include renewals and extensions, so they don’t represent individual workers.

The program to which Microsoft lost access comes later in the process.

Known as PERM, it’s run by the Labor Department and is usually the first step when a company sponsors an employee to stay in the U.S. permanently. The employer has to advertise the job and show that no qualified, available U.S. worker can fill it. Most applications are for people already working in the U.S. on H-1B visas.

Microsoft is the biggest user of PERM. The Labor Department ruled on 3,161 of its applications in the fiscal year that ended in September 2025, more than for any other employer in the country, according to a GeekWire analysis of the agency’s data. Microsoft also led in the first nine months of fiscal 2026, with 1,683 applications decided through June.

Amazon and Google filed thousands of PERM applications in 2022 and early 2023, then largely stopped. The Labor Department ruled on 39 applications from Amazon and its subsidiaries last fiscal year, including Whole Foods, Audible and Zappos, and three from Google.

The suspension could hit hardest for Microsoft employees already on H-1B visas. Many count on the company to start the permanent residency process in time to extend their visas past the usual six-year limit, and the Labor Department says it won’t process Microsoft’s pending applications either.

Some Microsoft employees on H-1B visas were surprised by the news and unsure whether it would affect them, The Seattle Times reported. The paper noted that the White House hasn’t provided evidence of fraud by Microsoft.

Microsoft’s response: In a statement posted Thursday, Microsoft pushed back on criticism of its hiring and said it looks forward to “providing the Administration with additional information.” The statement focused on H-1B visas and didn’t address the PERM suspension specifically.

The company said about 80% of the roughly 6,000 H-1B applications it filed last fiscal year were to extend or change the status of people who already work at Microsoft. “These were not to hire new people,” it said.

The rest were for new hires already living in the U.S. legally, a group equal to about 1% of Microsoft’s U.S. workforce. “They are not new arrivals to our country,” the company said.

Microsoft also said it files H-1B petitions only for workers who meet “the rigorous standards of this visa category,” pays them “the same as any other employees doing comparable work,” and offers wages “among the highest of all H-1B filings.”

The vast majority of its U.S. employees are Americans, the company said.

Nadella’s own path: Nadella’s route to citizenship wasn’t a straight line, as he described in “Hit Refresh.” He was working at Microsoft when he married his wife, Anu, in India in December 1992. The next summer, her application for a visa to join him in the U.S. was rejected because she was married to a permanent resident.

Spouses of permanent residents faced long waits, and Microsoft’s immigration lawyer told Nadella it could take five years or more to bring her to the U.S.

Nadella considered quitting Microsoft and moving back to India. Then the lawyer suggested a different approach: give up his permanent residency and go back to a temporary H-1B visa, which would let his wife join him right away.

In June 1994, Nadella went to the U.S. embassy in New Delhi, past the long lines of people hoping to get visas, and told a clerk he wanted to give up his permanent residency. The clerk was dumbfounded, Nadella wrote. The plan worked, and Anu joined him in Seattle, where they started a family. Nadella eventually got back on the path to permanent residency and later became a U.S. citizen.

But in the meantime, back in Redmond, Nadella became known around the Microsoft campus as the guy who gave up his green card. Colleagues called him for advice. One, Kunal Bahl, later left Microsoft when his H-1B ran out before his permanent residency came through. He returned to India and founded the e-commerce company Snapdeal.

“Such is the perverse logic of this immigration law,” Nadella wrote.

Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,040 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,354 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 4.1% of Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,375,360 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $24,013,297,000 after buying an additional 543,172 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $18,306,443,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,426,862,000 after acquiring an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.3% Shares of MSFT opened at $522.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $499.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $434.03. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.10, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year. Microsoft Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Insider Activity In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

More Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its AI relationship with Nvidia and introduced the $2,599 Surface Laptop Ultra, powered by Nvidia’s RTX technology. The device is designed to run AI models and agents locally, potentially strengthening Windows’ role in the emerging “agentic” PC market. Is Microsoft Stock a Buy After Expanding Its Nvidia Partnership? Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to cite Azure momentum, Copilot demand and Microsoft’s large backlog as evidence that its more than $175 billion AI infrastructure investment could generate sustainable returns. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 price target, while other analysts have issued targets as high as $635. Microsoft’s Integrated AI Stack and Enterprise Copilot Flywheel Justify Buy Rating Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced that fiscal 2027 first-quarter results will be released after the market closes on October 28. Investors are likely to focus on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI capital expenditures, free cash flow and forward guidance. Microsoft Announces Quarterly Earnings Release Date Negative Sentiment: The Labor Department suspended Microsoft from the Permanent Labor Certification program used to help foreign workers obtain U.S. permanent residency, alleging misuse of worker programs. The restriction could raise hiring costs and, over time, make it harder to retain specialized AI talent, although the near-term earnings impact is expected to be limited. U.S. Suspends Microsoft, Adobe From Green-Card Labor Program Negative Sentiment: Investors are increasingly concerned that Microsoft’s valuation is less attractive after its strong run, while heavy AI data-center spending may pressure free cash flow. Reports also questioned the reliability of OpenAI’s annual recurring revenue figures, adding uncertainty around a key AI partner. Oracle, Microsoft Shares Decline as OpenAI’s ARR Is Questioned Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned gaming companies over their use of virtual currencies, creating an additional regulatory overhang for the Xbox business. Italy Launches EU-Backed Probe Into Microsoft-Owned Gaming Companies Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Argus lowered their price objective 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Microsoft from an “overweight” rating to a “negative” rating in a research report on Monday. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $578.73.

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Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

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.

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