Kentucky Retirement Systems Purchases 161,666 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Posted by Geri Gentry on Aug 15th, 2026

Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 34.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 627,191 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 161,666 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 8.0% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings, making the stock its largest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $232,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to highlight Microsoft’s Azure expansion, accelerating Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption, and the company’s ability to sustain double-digit earnings growth. Microsoft’s latest quarter also exceeded expectations, with revenue of approximately $90 billion and earnings growth supported by Azure. Microsoft’s Cloud Gains Can Sustain Double-Digit Earnings Growth
Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Microsoft price target to $625, citing stronger Copilot demand and accelerating infrastructure investment. Other analysts remain bullish, with a six-month median target near $540, reinforcing investor confidence in Microsoft’s long-term AI positioning. JPMorgan Raises Microsoft Price Target
Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is combining its consumer and enterprise Copilot applications into a unified platform, potentially improving distribution, user engagement, and monetization as it competes with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Microsoft Unifies Copilot Applications
Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft approved the first AI data-center deployment under its $9.7 billion agreement with IREN, supporting Azure capacity expansion. The deal improves supply visibility but also underscores Microsoft’s substantial capital requirements. IREN Delivers First AI Cloud Deployment
Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s roughly $175 billion AI infrastructure spending plan could pressure free cash flow and cloud margins. A reported decline in cloud gross margin and higher data-center, chip, electricity, and labor costs raise questions about how much of the company’s large AI backlog will translate into profit. Microsoft’s AI Backlog and Profitability Concerns
Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft has closed at least 15 China offices and joint ventures add geopolitical and operational uncertainty, although Azure reportedly provides a profitable reason to retain a limited China presence. Microsoft Retreats in China

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3%

MSFT stock opened at $495.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $411.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $408.50. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Arete Research raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.27.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft

About Microsoft

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Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).