First Trust Advisors LP Has $1.53 Billion Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 13.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,131,891 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 501,498 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 1.1% of First Trust Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,529,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.9% in the third quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% in the second quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the third quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,251 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,720,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Pollock Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% during the third quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $558.87.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.0%

MSFT opened at $499.99 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $404.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $406.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid 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 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its Microsoft price target to $600. The upgrade follows Microsoft’s quarterly Azure performance, with analysts highlighting the 43% cloud-revenue increase and stronger-than-expected earnings as evidence that AI demand is translating into accelerating cloud growth. Citi Raises Microsoft Stock Target to $600
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom AI chips may improve cloud economics. CEO Satya Nadella said the company’s internally developed chips can deliver efficiency gains of up to 40%. Better cost and energy efficiency could help Microsoft support AI workloads while protecting Azure margins. Microsoft Custom AI Chips Improve Efficiency
• Positive Sentiment: Azure is expanding in India. Microsoft opened a major Hyderabad data-center region and is committing approximately $20.5 billion to its Indian cloud and AI operations. Early customers include Adani Group and HDFC Bank, supporting the case for long-term international Azure growth. Microsoft Opens Largest India Data Center Hub
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and institutional support remain strong. Microsoft recently exceeded quarterly revenue and EPS expectations, while Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square holds a reported $2.4 billion MSFT position. Scotiabank also raised its fiscal 2027 EPS estimate and maintained an Outperform rating. Bill Ackman Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: AI demand is powerful but concentrated. Reports suggest OpenAI may account for a substantial portion of Microsoft’s AI sales, creating both a major growth engine and customer-concentration risk. Microsoft’s large AI backlog also does not guarantee equivalent future profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Spending, margins and valuation remain concerns. Rising data-center capital expenditures and lower cloud gross margins could pressure cash flow if AI infrastructure costs grow faster than revenue. After the sharp post-earnings rally, the stock is also more vulnerable to profit-taking or disappointing guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales and securities litigation add headline risk. CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares for roughly $4.9 million, and multiple law firms are publicizing a securities class action with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. These developments do not establish wrongdoing but may weigh on near-term sentiment.

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).