292,770 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Bought by Castleark Management LLC

Key Points

• Castleark Management acquired 292,770 Microsoft shares worth approximately $109.2 million, making Microsoft 2.9% of its portfolio and its seventh-largest holding. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 43 Buy ratings, a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, and an average price target of $590.30. Microsoft’s AI growth prospects remain strong, though investors are watching whether heavy capital spending translates into Azure revenue and sustainable margins.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, beating estimates, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share. Shares opened at $533.52, near their 52-week high, while insiders have recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 292,770 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $109,209,000. Microsoft comprises 2.9% of Castleark Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $18,306,443,000. Amundi grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Microsoft by 10.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,784,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 acquiring an additional 9,493,778 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Yorkville Ives initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $615.00 price target for the company. Finally, William Blair began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $590.30.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft received a bullish signal ahead of its Oct. 28 earnings report after Bernstein raised its price target to $662 and maintained an “Outperform” rating. Investors are watching Azure growth, commercial remaining performance obligations, and whether Microsoft’s more than $115 billion in recent capital spending is translating into AI revenue. Microsoft Given New Price Target at Sanford C. Bernstein
• Positive Sentiment: The company unveiled its Maia 300 AI accelerator and plans multi-gigawatt deployments beginning next year. The chip could reduce Microsoft’s reliance on Nvidia and lower inference costs, supporting the long-term economics of its AI infrastructure strategy. Microsoft's New AI Chip Could Change the Economics of AI
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced security controls for enterprise AI agents and emphasized that frontier models can pose insider-threat-like risks. The initiative could strengthen demand for Microsoft’s security products as businesses adopt agentic AI. Microsoft Introduces Security Features for AI Agents
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Microsoft as a broad way to monetize AI through Azure, Copilot, software subscriptions, and security. Expectations call for Azure growth of roughly 45%, though capacity constraints could limit near-term upside. Microsoft Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft withdrew as anchor customer from Nscale’s planned U.K. AI data center, reportedly because of electricity-grid and power-supply delays. The decision highlights infrastructure constraints but may also reflect disciplined capital allocation; third-party operators could benefit if hyperscalers build less capacity themselves. Microsoft Pulls Out of U.K. Data Center Deal
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s aggressive AI capital expenditures could pressure free cash flow and margins if Azure monetization does not accelerate. One analyst also said Maia remains well behind Nvidia and Google’s custom chips, limiting its near-term competitive impact. Microsoft AI Bull Case and Valuation Risks

Microsoft Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $533.52 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $506.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $442.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Profile

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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