Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Raised by Wellington Grp LLC

Wellington Grp LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 24.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,973 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,934 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 1.4% of Wellington Grp LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Wellington Grp LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares 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 2nd 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 period. D.B. Root & Company LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,652,000. Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,641,000. GTS Securities LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 44.6% in the 2nd quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 271,597 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $101,311,000 after buying an additional 83,734 shares during the period. Finally, Henson Edgewater Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $9,430,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft News Roundup

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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $521.91 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $512.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $438.43. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $551.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The business had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.79 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 paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. 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 currently 19.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total value of $3,984,293.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 555,396 shares in the company, valued at $302,924,086.32. The trade was a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. CLSA reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $609.54.

Microsoft Company 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.