Monetta Financial Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 25.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,000 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.5% of Monetta Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Monetta Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after purchasing an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 10.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,852,884,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784,809 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 64.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,982,083,000 after acquiring an additional 9,493,778 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,906,086 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,108,976,000 after purchasing an additional 781,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its position in Microsoft by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 20,721,690 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,670,548,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371,040 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $512.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target 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. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Forty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $592.15.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT
Key Microsoft News
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Azure and earnings expectations remain strong. Bank of America reaffirmed its Buy rating and forecast approximately 44.8% Azure growth. Analysts expect quarterly results to be broadly in line with estimates, with Azure strength potentially offsetting heavy investment in AI infrastructure. Microsoft Stock Forecast: BofA Reaffirms Buy Ahead of Earnings
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom silicon and security businesses could support future cloud margins. The Maia AI accelerator and other internally developed chips may reduce reliance on Nvidia, improve cost control and retain more economics from Microsoft’s AI services. Investors are also watching whether security growth helps offset data-center expenses. Microsoft: Security And Silicon Set The Stage For Cloud Margin Recovery
- Positive Sentiment: Medical AI results add another potential growth opportunity. Microsoft’s MAI-DxO reportedly diagnosed complex cases more than twice as often as general physicians in a simulation, strengthening the company’s positioning in healthcare AI, although commercialization and regulatory hurdles remain. Microsoft develops AI tool that can diagnose sequentially like a doctor
- Neutral Sentiment: The upcoming report is a major near-term catalyst. Investors will focus on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization, capital expenditures, backlog conversion and management’s outlook. The stock is trading near its yearly high, raising expectations for a strong forecast. Microsoft’s Earnings Problem: Even Great May Not Be Enough
- Negative Sentiment: AI spending and market conditions could pressure valuation and margins. Investors have recently sold some technology shares when companies raised infrastructure budgets, while a weaker overall market and higher oil prices have added volatility. Microsoft’s large data-center investment must translate into revenue growth to justify the spending. Microsoft Earnings Report To Focus On AI Momentum, Capex
- Negative Sentiment: Operational and product concerns remain. Microsoft withdrew from a U.K. data-center deal because of power-delivery delays, and Xbox cloud-streaming price changes have generated customer friction. Former CEO Bill Gates has also warned about AI safety risks, potentially increasing regulatory scrutiny. Microsoft pulls out of UK Nscale data centre deal over power delay
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Performance
NASDAQ MSFT opened at $524.51 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $508.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $446.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month 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.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.
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.
Featured Articles
- Five stocks we like better than Microsoft
- Spotify Soars After Earnings as the Company Touts AI Benefits and Moderating Costs
- Lockheed Martin’s Record $292 Billion Backlog Comes With a Delivery Test
- Palantir’s Next Big Test Isn’t a Partnership—It’s the Numbers
- Kinder Morgan’s $4.7 Billion Pipeline Bet Could Be Bigger Than Its Earnings Beat
Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
