81,854 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Acquired by Sone Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Sone Capital Management acquired 81,854 Microsoft shares worth approximately $30.5 million, making Microsoft its seventh-largest holding. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the stock.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98, or $3.92 annually.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $589.71 price target, though investors are monitoring AI spending, margin pressure and potential regulatory action in the U.K.

Sone Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 81,854 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $30,533,000. Microsoft accounts for 2.3% of Sone Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Trajan Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $103,382,000. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $37,112,000. Veratis Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $826,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,428,000. Finally, Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,249,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $529.05 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $505.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $441.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

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 Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price target on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Bank of America upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Barclays increased 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, October 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $530.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $589.71.

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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