3,000 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Acquired by De Lisle Partners LLP

Key Points

• De Lisle Partners LLP acquired 3,000 Microsoft shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.12 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 42 Buy, four Hold and two Sell ratings; Microsoft has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $589.71.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations, while revenue grew 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share, although insiders have sold roughly $75.4 million of stock over the past 90 days.

De Lisle Partners LLP acquired a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,000 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 8,773 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock worth $199,014,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 8.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after buying an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 138.8% during the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant's stock worth $502,077,000 after buying an additional 788,297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total value of $3,984,293.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 555,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $302,924,086.32. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $522.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Evercore upgraded shares of Microsoft from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $589.71.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $539.44 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $504.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $439.96. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for 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 was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is an increase 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%.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $675 from $525 and reiterated a Buy rating, citing accelerating Azure and Microsoft 365 growth driven by artificial intelligence. The firm believes Microsoft’s valuation remains reasonable despite its recent rally. UBS raises Microsoft price target
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Wall Street firms have lifted their targets, with analysts highlighting Azure momentum, approximately 30 million Copilot seats, Microsoft’s commercial backlog and the potential for a larger-than-usual earnings beat. The October 28 results will provide an important test of whether AI spending is translating into revenue and profit.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Maia 300 custom AI accelerator is expected to scale across Azure data centers and reportedly deliver more tokens per megawatt than conventional GPU systems. The chip could reduce inference costs and Microsoft’s dependence on Nvidia and AMD hardware. Microsoft Maia 300 AI chip
• Positive Sentiment: AI care-management company Tucuvi joined Microsoft’s Pegasus startup program, potentially expanding Microsoft’s enterprise AI pipeline and go-to-market reach in healthcare. Microsoft also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.98 from $0.91, signaling continued confidence in cash generation. Tucuvi joins Microsoft Pegasus Program
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Azure management is seeking roughly 20% cost reductions could improve efficiency and margins, but also underscore the pressure created by Microsoft’s substantial AI data-center investments.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s $10 million contribution to a White House ballroom project is unlikely to affect near-term financial results, though it could attract political or reputational scrutiny. Microsoft White House ballroom contribution
• Negative Sentiment: Higher inflation and bond yields have pressured AI valuations and raised concerns about the financing cost and returns of large infrastructure projects. Microsoft’s strong balance sheet makes it less vulnerable than smaller AI companies, but valuation sensitivity remains a risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft to Hold, while reports of security vulnerabilities, executive share sales and intense competition from rapidly growing AI companies add caution. Amy Hood’s sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, limiting its significance.

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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