Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Bought by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,300,016 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,739 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $857,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Private Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 19.3% in the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 18,974 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,078,000 after buying an additional 3,071 shares during the last quarter. Van Den Berg Management I Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the second quarter. Van Den Berg Management I Inc. now owns 27,758 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,354,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 139.6% during the 2nd quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,940 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $24,597,000 after purchasing an additional 38,419 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 15,023 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,604,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Spinnaker Trust grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 119,765 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $44,675,000 after buying an additional 1,342 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and earnings expectations remain strong. Bank of America reaffirmed its Buy rating and forecast approximately 44.8% Azure growth. Analysts expect quarterly results to be broadly in line with estimates, with Azure strength potentially offsetting heavy investment in AI infrastructure. Microsoft Stock Forecast: BofA Reaffirms Buy Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom silicon and security businesses could support future cloud margins. The Maia AI accelerator and other internally developed chips may reduce reliance on Nvidia, improve cost control and retain more economics from Microsoft’s AI services. Investors are also watching whether security growth helps offset data-center expenses. Microsoft: Security And Silicon Set The Stage For Cloud Margin Recovery
• Positive Sentiment: Medical AI results add another potential growth opportunity. Microsoft’s MAI-DxO reportedly diagnosed complex cases more than twice as often as general physicians in a simulation, strengthening the company’s positioning in healthcare AI, although commercialization and regulatory hurdles remain. Microsoft develops AI tool that can diagnose sequentially like a doctor
• Neutral Sentiment: The upcoming report is a major near-term catalyst. Investors will focus on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization, capital expenditures, backlog conversion and management’s outlook. The stock is trading near its yearly high, raising expectations for a strong forecast. Microsoft’s Earnings Problem: Even Great May Not Be Enough
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending and market conditions could pressure valuation and margins. Investors have recently sold some technology shares when companies raised infrastructure budgets, while a weaker overall market and higher oil prices have added volatility. Microsoft’s large data-center investment must translate into revenue growth to justify the spending. Microsoft Earnings Report To Focus On AI Momentum, Capex
• Negative Sentiment: Operational and product concerns remain. Microsoft withdrew from a U.K. data-center deal because of power-delivery delays, and Xbox cloud-streaming price changes have generated customer friction. Former CEO Bill Gates has also warned about AI safety risks, potentially increasing regulatory scrutiny. Microsoft pulls out of UK Nscale data centre deal over power delay

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business’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 owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Forty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $592.15.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $524.51 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.10. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $508.51 and a 200-day moving average of $446.17.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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. Shareholders 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 represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company’s principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.