19,084 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Purchased by Uptick Partners LLC

Key Points

• Uptick Partners LLC purchased 19,084 Microsoft shares worth approximately $7.1 million, making Microsoft its 17th-largest holding; institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of MSFT.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue grew 17.7% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a bullish outlook, with 42 Buy ratings and a consensus price target of $578.73; Microsoft also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.

Uptick Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 19,084 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $7,119,000. Microsoft makes up about 1.1% of Uptick Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 234.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,822,280 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,619,211,000 after acquiring an additional 12,493,786 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Microsoft by 30.8% during 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. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Microsoft by 64.3% during 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 during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 38,442.1% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,810,388 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,521,001,000 after purchasing an additional 6,792,718 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 21st. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Forty-two 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $535.07 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $501.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $435.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra
• Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program
• Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile

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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