LM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 40,679 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $15,151,000. Microsoft makes up 1.7% of LM Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position.
Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,426,862,000 after purchasing an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,784,809 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,715,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 9,493,778 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Activity at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Trading Down 1.9%
MSFT stock opened at $529.05 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $505.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $440.59.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The business 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 is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.
Key Stories Impacting Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Microsoft to remain the only major hyperscaler with positive free cash flow over the next year despite heavy AI investment. This reinforces confidence that the company can fund data-center expansion without substantial external financing. Microsoft Free Cash Flow Expected to Remain Positive
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement with NiSource for approximately 1,100 megawatts of power for an Indiana data-center campus beginning in 2028. Securing electricity supports future Azure capacity as grid constraints become a bottleneck for AI expansion. Microsoft Signs Power Deal With NiSource
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom Maia AI chips and reports that a new model achieved comparable or better performance than OpenAI’s system using a fraction of the computing power could eventually reduce reliance on expensive third-party GPUs and improve AI economics. Microsoft Wants to Make AI Cheaper
- Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization and capital expenditures ahead of earnings. Strong demand could support the shares, but the market wants evidence that revenue growth is translating into sustainable margins.
- Negative Sentiment: The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority is investigating Microsoft’s grip on business software and says Microsoft and Amazon Web Services may need to do more to address cloud-service barriers. Potential remedies could increase compliance costs or weaken customer-lock-in advantages. UK Regulator Targets Microsoft’s Business Software Grip
- Negative Sentiment: Questions remain over whether custom chips will deliver meaningful savings: AI infrastructure, power and data-center commitments are rising rapidly, while Microsoft is reportedly seeking substantial cost reductions in Azure. That creates concern about near-term free-cash-flow and margin pressure.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 21st. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $589.71.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft
About Microsoft
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.
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