22,269 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Acquired by Markowski Investments

Markowski Investments acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 22,269 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $8,307,000. Microsoft makes up about 1.8% of Markowski Investments’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% during the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 8,773 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,652,000. Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $75,641,000. GTS Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 44.6% during the second quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 271,597 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $101,311,000 after acquiring an additional 83,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Henson Edgewater Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $9,430,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.6%

MSFT stock opened at $521.91 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $551.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $512.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $438.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. The business had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. UBS Group set a $700.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $662.00 to $722.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Evercore raised shares of Microsoft from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Griffin Securities downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $609.54.

Key Microsoft News

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 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.