Powell Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Powell Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 48.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,034 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,977 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.8% of Powell Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Powell Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $384.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $403.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $414.79.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on Microsoft from $570.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. HSBC reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Forty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.98.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to expand its AI strategy, including a new “Microsoft Frontier Company” unit backed by a $2.5 billion investment and staffed with thousands of industry and engineering experts to help customers adopt AI faster.
• Positive Sentiment: Haleon signed a five-year agreement with Microsoft to deploy agentic AI across global operations, showing that enterprise demand for Microsoft’s cloud and AI tools remains strong.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s recent earnings beat and revenue growth continue to support the long-term bull case, with the company still viewed as a key beneficiary of enterprise AI adoption.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced its fiscal Q4 2026 earnings date for July 29, which keeps investor focus on upcoming results and guidance.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentators remain split on the stock, with some arguing Microsoft is trading at a rare discount after a steep pullback, while others say heavy AI capital spending is clouding the near-term outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is replacing some OpenAI and Anthropic models with its own in-house AI tools have stirred debate, with investors interpreting it as both a cost-saving move and a sign that Microsoft is trying to control AI expenses more tightly.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted rising AI infrastructure spending, including concerns that capex is growing faster than margin benefits, which is pressuring sentiment toward MSFT and other hyperscalers.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft disclosed a 25%–27% jump in greenhouse gas emissions as data center buildout accelerated, adding ESG and execution concerns to the AI expansion story.
• Negative Sentiment: Class-action lawsuit headlines and deadline reminders tied to alleged AI/Copilot misrepresentations are adding legal overhang and investor uncertainty.
• Negative Sentiment: Starbucks’ plan to use its own AI tools to cut software costs from vendors like Microsoft is feeding a broader narrative that large enterprises may eventually reduce third-party software spending.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).