Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC Acquires 9,873 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 9,873 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $3,683,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.9% of Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 8,773 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in Microsoft by 138.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the executive vice president 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped 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. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $589.71.

More Microsoft News

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.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $529.05 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 has a market cap of $3.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $505.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $440.59.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its 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. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given 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%.

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.