Ackerman Asset Management LLC Makes New $424,000 Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

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Ackerman Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,136 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $424,000. Microsoft makes up 0.3% of Ackerman Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Other institutional investors 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 second 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 buying an additional 8,773 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock worth $199,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 8.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted 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. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $535.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company's fifty day moving average price is $501.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $434.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra
• Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program
• Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Microsoft from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $578.73.

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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