65,137 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Acquired by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 65,137 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $24,297,000. Microsoft accounts for about 0.9% of Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,387,000. Pure Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,244,000. Payne Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $652,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $14,471,000. Finally, Sanchez Levi Garrett bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $3,226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism and earnings expectations: BMO Capital raised its Microsoft price target to $600 while maintaining an Outperform rating, citing potential upside for Azure. Bernstein also reiterated Outperform and lifted its target to $662. Analysts expect Microsoft’s Oct. 28 results to benefit from Azure demand and expanding enterprise AI adoption. Boeing and Microsoft AI platform article
• Positive Sentiment: AI and cloud growth remain the core bull case: Commentary points to robust Azure infrastructure demand, commercial customer commitments and Microsoft’s ability to monetize AI across enterprise markets. Its new Maia AI chips could eventually reduce reliance on outside processors and lower inference costs, although execution remains important. Microsoft Q1 outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Xbox and industry partnerships: Microsoft plans next-generation Xbox consoles and handheld devices for the 2027–2028 holiday seasons. Separately, its partnership with AMD is intended to improve Xbox performance, while Boeing’s new Dataliner aircraft-data platform uses Microsoft Azure AI Foundry and could support enterprise cloud adoption. Next-generation Xbox article
• Neutral Sentiment: Tokenized-stock objection: Microsoft joined Alphabet and Goldman Sachs in objecting to having its shares listed on a proposed OKX-ICE tokenized-stock platform. The move may limit potential trading exposure but does not directly affect operating results. Tokenized stocks article
• Negative Sentiment: U.K. AI data-center withdrawal: Microsoft withdrew as anchor tenant from Nscale’s planned Loughton, Essex, facility because grid-connection delays threatened the power supply. The decision highlights electricity and permitting constraints that could slow Azure capacity expansion and increase infrastructure costs. Microsoft U.K. data-center withdrawal
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and execution pressure: Britain’s competition watchdog is considering strategic-market-status rules for Microsoft’s business software, potentially increasing compliance requirements. Investors are also watching whether very large AI capital expenditures generate sufficient revenue and cash flow to justify the spending. U.K. regulation article
• Negative Sentiment: Broader AI-stock weakness: A selloff across AI-related equities and concerns about financing, power availability and uncertain returns are weighing on large technology stocks, including Microsoft. The company’s elevated valuation leaves less room for disappointment if Azure growth or earnings guidance falls short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $522.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Microsoft from $660.00 to $662.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Phillip Securities cut Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Forty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $592.15.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $531.87 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $506.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $443.46. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 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. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. On average, 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. Shareholders 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. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale 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, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.