Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Rep. Cleo Fields

Representative Cleo Fields (Democratic-Louisiana) recently bought shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). In a filing disclosed on October 1st, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Microsoft stock on September 10th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MORGAN STANLEY – E*TRADE – FIELDS LAW FIRM 2, LLC” account.

Representative Cleo Fields also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) on 9/14/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) on 9/14/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on 9/8/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on 8/13/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) on 7/10/2026.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $517.53 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $490.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $429.97. 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 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted 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 return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 21.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were 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. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and AI demand remain the primary catalyst. Investor data and analyst commentary point to accelerating Azure demand, while Microsoft’s recent earnings showed its fastest cloud growth in four years. The improving demand is helping ease concerns that the company’s substantial AI infrastructure spending will not generate adequate returns. Ca$htag: MSFT Azure Cloud Drives Soaring Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo added Microsoft to its Q4 Tactical Ideas list and raised its price target to $725, citing Azure’s growth potential and the prospect of improved AI monetization through Copilot. The action adds to a series of bullish analyst revisions; one report noted that 52 analysts covering Microsoft currently have no sell ratings. With Azure as a Catalyst, Microsoft Is Positioned for Sustained Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s OpenAI relationship provides potential additional value. Investors are increasingly focused on Microsoft’s stake and commercial partnership with OpenAI, particularly ahead of a possible OpenAI initial public offering that could provide a market reference for the investment. OpenAI’s Future IPO Keeps Me Buying Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced new real-time AI speech models for customer-service agents, multilingual assistants and voice interfaces. The products broaden Microsoft’s enterprise AI offering and could support additional cloud consumption and software revenue. Microsoft Targets Contact Center Market With Real-Time AI Voice Models
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are awaiting Microsoft’s October 7 Surface and Windows event. New hardware or Windows updates could support the ecosystem, although the event has not yet produced a material earnings catalyst. Microsoft Stock Notches Up Ahead of the Surface Show
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include heavy AI capital spending, valuation concerns and broader market concentration. Critics argue that rising data-center capacity could pressure compute pricing and returns, while strategists warn that a market correction could disproportionately affect megacap technology stocks. Microsoft’s dividend remains affordable, but AI infrastructure spending and lease commitments could limit future dividend growth. Morgan Stanley Strategist Sees Market Drawdown Potential

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. State Street Corp lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 315,653,206 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $117,744,959,000 after purchasing an additional 8,944,917 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,375,360 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $24,013,297,000 after acquiring an additional 543,172 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $18,306,443,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. CLSA reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price target on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $571.18.

About Representative FIELDS

Cleo Fields (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2025. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Fields (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the primary scheduled on November 3, 2026.

Cleo Fields graduated from McKinley High School in 1980. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Southern University in 1984 and a J.D. from the Southern University Law Center in 1987. His career experience includes working as a state legislator and U.S. congressman. When Fields was elected to the Louisiana State Senate in 1986, he was the youngest person ever elected to the State Senate in Louisiana’s history. In 1995, Fields ran for governor of Louisiana, becoming the first African American since reconstruction to make the runoff.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft’s productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.