2,452 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Bought by ICONIQ Capital LLC

Key Points

• ICONIQ Capital purchased 2,452 Microsoft shares worth approximately $915,000 during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 42 Buy ratings, four Holds and two Sells; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $589.71.
• Microsoft exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98, and continues investing heavily in AI infrastructure. However, insiders have sold roughly $75.4 million of stock over the past 90 days, while regulatory scrutiny and rising AI costs remain risks.

ICONIQ Capital LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,452 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $915,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Sequent Planning LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Sequent Planning LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,382,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC now owns 687 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC now owns 5,543 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,052,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Melius Research set a $665.00 price target on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Microsoft from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $589.71.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.9%

Microsoft stock opened at $529.05 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $505.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $440.59. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10.

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. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during 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%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This is an increase 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 of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Key Microsoft News

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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This represents 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 worth $75,404,992. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

About Microsoft

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.

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