77,662 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Acquired by Palestra Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Palestra Capital Management initiated a Microsoft position of 77,662 shares worth approximately $29 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft’s outstanding stock.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with $4.74 in EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, up 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $592.15, though insider selling, high AI spending, regulatory pressure and data-center constraints remain key risks.

Palestra Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 77,662 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $28,969,000. Microsoft comprises 1.0% of Palestra Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Palogic Value Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,867,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $20,998,000. Axim Planning & Wealth bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $902,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $23,760,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $27,338,370,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $531.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $506.64 and a 200 day moving average of $443.46. The company has a market cap of $3.95 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. 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%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Microsoft from $522.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Argus decreased their target price on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Forty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $592.15.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism and earnings expectations: BMO Capital raised its Microsoft price target to $600 while maintaining an Outperform rating, citing potential upside for Azure. Bernstein also reiterated Outperform and lifted its target to $662. Analysts expect Microsoft’s Oct. 28 results to benefit from Azure demand and expanding enterprise AI adoption. Boeing and Microsoft AI platform article
• Positive Sentiment: AI and cloud growth remain the core bull case: Commentary points to robust Azure infrastructure demand, commercial customer commitments and Microsoft’s ability to monetize AI across enterprise markets. Its new Maia AI chips could eventually reduce reliance on outside processors and lower inference costs, although execution remains important. Microsoft Q1 outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Xbox and industry partnerships: Microsoft plans next-generation Xbox consoles and handheld devices for the 2027–2028 holiday seasons. Separately, its partnership with AMD is intended to improve Xbox performance, while Boeing’s new Dataliner aircraft-data platform uses Microsoft Azure AI Foundry and could support enterprise cloud adoption. Next-generation Xbox article
• Neutral Sentiment: Tokenized-stock objection: Microsoft joined Alphabet and Goldman Sachs in objecting to having its shares listed on a proposed OKX-ICE tokenized-stock platform. The move may limit potential trading exposure but does not directly affect operating results. Tokenized stocks article
• Negative Sentiment: U.K. AI data-center withdrawal: Microsoft withdrew as anchor tenant from Nscale’s planned Loughton, Essex, facility because grid-connection delays threatened the power supply. The decision highlights electricity and permitting constraints that could slow Azure capacity expansion and increase infrastructure costs. Microsoft U.K. data-center withdrawal
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and execution pressure: Britain’s competition watchdog is considering strategic-market-status rules for Microsoft’s business software, potentially increasing compliance requirements. Investors are also watching whether very large AI capital expenditures generate sufficient revenue and cash flow to justify the spending. U.K. regulation article
• Negative Sentiment: Broader AI-stock weakness: A selloff across AI-related equities and concerns about financing, power availability and uncertain returns are weighing on large technology stocks, including Microsoft. The company’s elevated valuation leaves less room for disappointment if Azure growth or earnings guidance falls short.

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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