Puff Wealth Management LLC Makes New $870,000 Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Puff Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,333 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $870,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $483.24 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $419.61 and its 200 day moving average is $409.20. The stock has a market cap of $3.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly preparing to launch its Maia 300 AI accelerator as soon as this fall and is discussing production with TSMC. Developing proprietary chips could reduce long-term reliance on Nvidia, improve supply-chain control, and support Microsoft’s expanding AI infrastructure. Microsoft’s Betting Big on Its Own AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Meta has reportedly become one of Microsoft’s largest Azure AI customers, spending hundreds of millions of dollars annually and consuming substantial computing capacity. The relationship reinforces evidence that enterprise demand is translating into Azure revenue. Meta Emerges as a Major Microsoft Azure AI Client
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend to $0.91 per share, while Azure revenue reportedly surpassed $100 billion. Analysts and financial commentators also highlighted a roughly $678 billion backlog and continued strong demand for cloud and AI services. Microsoft Raises Dividend as AI Capital Spending Hits Record Levels
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft approved the Horizon 1 Texas data-center project involving IREN, potentially expanding capacity available for AI workloads. The development is strategically relevant, although the near-term financial benefit to Microsoft remains unclear. Microsoft Accepts Horizon 1
• Negative Sentiment: Annual capital spending has climbed nearly 80% to about $115.9 billion, while free cash flow declined. Investors remain focused on whether AI revenue growth will generate adequate returns on this spending. Microsoft Spent $115.9 Billion on AI
• Negative Sentiment: TCI Management reportedly exited its Microsoft position and increased its Alphabet stake, adding a notable institutional-selling signal. Separately, commentary warned that Microsoft’s valuation depends on optimistic earnings forecasts, while higher bond yields could reduce the present value of future AI profits. TCI Exits Microsoft

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. President Capital raised their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.27.

Microsoft 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).