42,617 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Purchased by Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC

Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 42,617 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $15,897,000. Microsoft comprises 5.6% of Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $27,338,370,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $18,306,443,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $6,928,664,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $5,653,812,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $4,000,706,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $521.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $507.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $445.62. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total value of $3,984,293.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 555,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,924,086.32. The trade was a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s AI diagnostic system reportedly diagnosed complex medical cases more than twice as often as generalist physicians in a simulation published in Science. The result supports the company’s ambitions in healthcare and “medical superintelligence.” Microsoft AI medical diagnostic study
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted strong underlying cloud momentum: Azure annual revenue has surpassed $100 billion, cloud-services growth reached 43%, and Microsoft’s commercial backlog rose to approximately $678 billion. These trends could support the investment case if the company demonstrates continued acceleration in its upcoming earnings report. Microsoft cloud demand and backlog
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Satya Nadella said Microsoft is reorganizing around AI agents, broader model choice and lower-cost computing. The strategy could expand Copilot and Azure adoption across business workflows. Microsoft AI agent strategy
• Positive Sentiment: A strategic collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim will pursue AI-backed clinical development and digital patient twins, providing another potential application for Microsoft’s cloud and AI platforms. Microsoft and Boehringer Ingelheim partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on next week’s fiscal first-quarter earnings report. Analysts expect double-digit earnings growth, but the market increasingly wants evidence that Azure growth can keep pace with rivals and justify Microsoft’s substantial AI infrastructure investments. Microsoft earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s large AI capital expenditures remain a key valuation risk. While spending may create a long-term competitive moat, investors are concerned that data-center and infrastructure costs could pressure near-term returns, especially amid higher interest rates and market volatility. Microsoft AI spending and investment risk
• Negative Sentiment: Xbox announced pricing for cloud streaming of games users already own, prompting concerns about consumer reaction and pressure on Microsoft’s gaming business. Xbox cloud gaming pricing
• Negative Sentiment: Former CEO Bill Gates warned that AI could bring roughly two decades of disruption, reinforcing investor concerns about an AI investment bubble and the potential for expensive projects to produce uncertain returns. Bill Gates AI disruption comments

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Yorkville Ives initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $615.00 price target for the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Forty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.