9,532 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Purchased by Port Capital LLC

Key Points

• Port Capital purchased 9,532 Microsoft shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $3.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, beating estimates and reflecting 17.7% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Insiders sold approximately $75.4 million of Microsoft stock during the quarter, while the company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $592.15.

Port Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,532 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $3,556,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Windsor Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $1,391,000. Vantage Point Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,531,000. Wallace Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,475,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $119,407,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,253,471,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders 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%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $531.87 on Wednesday. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $506.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $443.46. The stock has a market cap of $3.95 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 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. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 21st. 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. Yorkville Ives started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $615.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $592.15.

Trending Headlines about 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.