Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Newly Acquired by Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC

Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 38,794 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $14,471,000. Microsoft makes up 1.2% of Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in 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 valued at $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 8,773 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $3,652,000. Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $199,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 8.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,562,197,000 after purchasing an additional 537,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $2,616,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.3%

Microsoft stock opened at $531.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $506.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $443.46. 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 one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.95 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.10.

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 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 business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 20.27%.

Key Headlines Impacting 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.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $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 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Forty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $592.15.

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.