Shah Wealth Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Shah Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,692 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 0.3% of Shah Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,338,370,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $18,306,443,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $6,928,664,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $5,653,812,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $4,000,706,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Argus cut their target price on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $630.00 target price (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised Microsoft from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Microsoft from $608.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $609.54.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm’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 value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This 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 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. 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 delivered a strong fiscal first quarter, with revenue of $92.28 billion and EPS of $4.89, both above expectations. Azure revenue surged 48%, while Microsoft Cloud revenue rose 30%, reinforcing the view that AI demand is translating into meaningful cloud growth. Microsoft Earnings Expose a Growing Divide in the Magnificent 7 AI Trade
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued second-quarter revenue guidance of $96.0 billion to $97.1 billion, above the $95.7 billion consensus estimate. Analysts responded with multiple price-target increases, including targets of $630 to $680, and Wolfe Research upgraded the stock to “strong buy.”
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s strong cash generation and diversified enterprise business continue to distinguish it from rivals facing sharper cash-flow concerns. Analysts argue that Azure, Copilot, AI agents and Microsoft’s security products provide several ways to monetize AI. The expanded Estée Lauder partnership, which will extend Copilot to more than 14,000 employees, offers another example of enterprise adoption. Estée Lauder and Microsoft Strategic Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s voluntary exit offer for approximately 60,000 employees may improve productivity and redirect resources toward AI, but it also highlights a significant restructuring as the company shifts toward more automated, equipment-intensive operations. Microsoft’s 60,000-Person Buyout Offer
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Microsoft’s capital intensity. The company plans roughly $170 billion of AI-related capital spending, while also arranging a $25 billion bond sale—the first major U.S. debt offering since 2017—to fund its buildout. Rising borrowing costs increase scrutiny of future AI returns. Microsoft Plans to Raise $25 Billion in Debt
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly capital spending was below analyst expectations because third-party AI-chip and data-center capacity was delayed, pushing some capacity into the first half of 2027. While management described this as a supply issue rather than weaker demand, the miss hurt AI infrastructure suppliers and revived concerns about the pace of expansion.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s cloud gross margin is reportedly narrowing as chip, power, data-center and labor costs rise. With the Nasdaq 100 down sharply during October amid fears of an AI spending bubble, investors are demanding proof that Microsoft’s large backlog will convert into profitable cash flow—not merely future revenue.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $521.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $512.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $438.43. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $551.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.71 EPS 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 0.8%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.46%.

About Microsoft

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.