2,361 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Acquired by Kilter Group LLC

Key Points

• Kilter Group LLC acquired 2,361 Microsoft shares worth approximately $881,000 in the second quarter, making Microsoft its 18th-largest holding and 0.3% of its portfolio.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds hold 71.13% of Microsoft’s stock, with several major firms—including Amundi, Dimensional Fund Advisors and Arrowstreet Capital—recently increasing their positions.
• Microsoft’s outlook is supported by strong AI and Azure demand, favorable analyst ratings and better-than-expected recent earnings, though investors are monitoring heavy infrastructure spending, regulatory risks and insider stock sales.

Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,361 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $881,000. Microsoft comprises 0.3% of Kilter Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew 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 worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in Microsoft by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after acquiring an additional 9,814,598 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Microsoft by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,852,884,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784,809 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,715,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 64.3% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 strengthens Microsoft’s AI strategy. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Maia 300 custom AI processor, which it says can deliver approximately 40% more AI-generated tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU-based systems. The company plans multi-gigawatt deployments beginning in 2027, potentially lowering inference costs, improving Azure margins and reducing reliance on Nvidia and AMD. Microsoft Reveals Next-Gen Maia 300 Custom AI Chip For Widespread Deployment
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure demand remains exceptionally strong. Microsoft reportedly signed more than $130 billion in data-center leases during the quarter, signaling aggressive capacity expansion to meet demand for Azure and AI services. Management has also indicated that demand continues to exceed available capacity, while its commercial backlog has reached a record level. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is supportive ahead of earnings. Barclays raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $512 and expects greater differentiation in software results. Microsoft is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter 2027 results on October 28, with consensus estimates of approximately $4.72 in earnings per share and $90.4 billion in revenue. Microsoft price target raised to $600 from $512 at Barclays
• Positive Sentiment: New AI products broaden Microsoft’s growth opportunities. The Decision-1 model is described as faster and cheaper to operate than competing systems, while new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop devices add AI features, 5G connectivity and improved battery efficiency.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are weighing AI growth against spending. The Maia rollout could improve long-term economics, but Microsoft is committing substantial capital to data centers and chips. Analysts are monitoring whether shrinking free cash flow and high infrastructure costs offset Azure and Copilot growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and execution risks remain. Microsoft is conducting another round of layoffs in Israel, its research chief Peter Lee is leaving for Mercedes’ Formula 1 team, and Norway fined subsidiary Xandr €8.6 million over Grindr data sharing. Nadella and President Brad Smith are also calling for stronger AI safeguards, highlighting potential compliance costs and liability risks.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 28th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $581.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president directly 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $543.45 on Wednesday. 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 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. The business's fifty day moving average is $503.23 and its 200 day moving average is $437.50.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend 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%.

Microsoft 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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