5,023,194 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Bought by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP acquired 5.02 million Microsoft shares worth approximately $1.87 billion in the second quarter, making Microsoft its fourth-largest holding and representing about 3.6% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, surpassing analyst expectations; revenue increased 17.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 41 Buy ratings and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, while the average price target stands at $581.24. Microsoft also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.

Korea Investment CORP acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,023,194 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,873,752,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.6% of Korea Investment CORP's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.07% of Microsoft as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,562,197,000 after purchasing an additional 537,634 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 138.8% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant's stock worth $502,077,000 after purchasing an additional 788,297 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.8%

Microsoft stock opened at $533.69 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $504.15 and a 200-day moving average of $438.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.98 dividend. 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 yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $530.00 to $575.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "market outperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $512.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $581.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled its Maia 300 custom AI accelerator, designed for multi-gigawatt deployment across Azure data centers. Management says it can deliver 40% more tokens per megawatt than a GPU-based system, potentially lowering inference costs and reducing reliance on Nvidia and AMD hardware. What Could Microsoft Gain From Its Maia 300 AI Chip Rollout?
• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism remains focused on Azure growth, Microsoft’s AI backlog, and more than $130 billion in reported data-center leases. The scale of commitments supports long-term demand for Azure and Copilot, although it also raises capital-spending risks. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $512 and expects the upcoming fiscal first-quarter report to show improving differentiation in software. Earnings are scheduled for October 28. Microsoft Price Target Raised by Barclays
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure chief reportedly seeks at least 20% cost cuts in an effort to offset soaring AI data-center expenses. The move could improve efficiency and margins, but it also highlights pressure from the company’s aggressive investment cycle. Microsoft Weighs 20% Cost Cuts in Azure
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is introducing new AI-enabled Surface devices and an Xbox Nano Controller, supporting its broader push to put generative AI into consumer hardware. These products are strategically relevant but are unlikely to materially affect near-term results.
• Negative Sentiment: Hot inflation data pushed bond yields higher and triggered a broad selloff in AI-related shares, increasing concern that expensive AI infrastructure projects may face higher financing costs and tougher valuation scrutiny.
• Negative Sentiment: Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft to “hold,” while Erste Group made a minor reduction to its FY2028 earnings forecast. These actions add to near-term caution following the stock’s strong run.
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares worth approximately $4.0 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance and represents only 1.3% of her holdings, it is a limited bearish signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft issued security updates addressing more than 1,400 vulnerabilities could renew concerns about cybersecurity exposure, though patching the flaws is ultimately protective.

About Microsoft

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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