6,544 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Purchased by Mission Financial Group LLC

Mission Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,544 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $2,441,000. Microsoft makes up 2.0% of Mission Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Frankly Finances LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $37,000. 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 valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $101,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.9%

MSFT stock opened at $529.05 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $505.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $440.59. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company 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 business’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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 issued a $0.98 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Evercore upgraded shares of Microsoft from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, August 10th. Forty-two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $589.71.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Microsoft to remain the only major hyperscaler with positive free cash flow over the next year despite heavy AI investment. This reinforces confidence that the company can fund data-center expansion without substantial external financing. Microsoft Free Cash Flow Expected to Remain Positive
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement with NiSource for approximately 1,100 megawatts of power for an Indiana data-center campus beginning in 2028. Securing electricity supports future Azure capacity as grid constraints become a bottleneck for AI expansion. Microsoft Signs Power Deal With NiSource
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom Maia AI chips and reports that a new model achieved comparable or better performance than OpenAI’s system using a fraction of the computing power could eventually reduce reliance on expensive third-party GPUs and improve AI economics. Microsoft Wants to Make AI Cheaper
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization and capital expenditures ahead of earnings. Strong demand could support the shares, but the market wants evidence that revenue growth is translating into sustainable margins.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority is investigating Microsoft’s grip on business software and says Microsoft and Amazon Web Services may need to do more to address cloud-service barriers. Potential remedies could increase compliance costs or weaken customer-lock-in advantages. UK Regulator Targets Microsoft’s Business Software Grip
• Negative Sentiment: Questions remain over whether custom chips will deliver meaningful savings: AI infrastructure, power and data-center commitments are rising rapidly, while Microsoft is reportedly seeking substantial cost reductions in Azure. That creates concern about near-term free-cash-flow and margin pressure.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the 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 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Profile

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.