Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co Acquires 7,715 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Alesco Advisors increased its Microsoft stake by 61.5% in the first quarter, purchasing 7,715 additional shares for a total of 20,259 shares valued at approximately $7.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.74 versus the $4.24 consensus and revenue of $90.01 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $558.87.
• Microsoft’s AI and Azure growth remain key positives, but rising data-center spending, potential margin pressure, customer concentration and recent insider selling present risks. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share.

Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 61.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,259 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 7,715 shares during the period. Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co's holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock worth $199,014,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 8.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,562,197,000 after acquiring an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management boosted its position in Microsoft by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Microsoft by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant's stock worth $131,750,000 after acquiring an additional 49,371 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Arete Research upped their price target on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $515.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $558.87.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its Microsoft price target to $600. The upgrade follows Microsoft’s quarterly Azure performance, with analysts highlighting the 43% cloud-revenue increase and stronger-than-expected earnings as evidence that AI demand is translating into accelerating cloud growth. Citi Raises Microsoft Stock Target to $600
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom AI chips may improve cloud economics. CEO Satya Nadella said the company’s internally developed chips can deliver efficiency gains of up to 40%. Better cost and energy efficiency could help Microsoft support AI workloads while protecting Azure margins. Microsoft Custom AI Chips Improve Efficiency
• Positive Sentiment: Azure is expanding in India. Microsoft opened a major Hyderabad data-center region and is committing approximately $20.5 billion to its Indian cloud and AI operations. Early customers include Adani Group and HDFC Bank, supporting the case for long-term international Azure growth. Microsoft Opens Largest India Data Center Hub
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and institutional support remain strong. Microsoft recently exceeded quarterly revenue and EPS expectations, while Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square holds a reported $2.4 billion MSFT position. Scotiabank also raised its fiscal 2027 EPS estimate and maintained an Outperform rating. Bill Ackman Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: AI demand is powerful but concentrated. Reports suggest OpenAI may account for a substantial portion of Microsoft’s AI sales, creating both a major growth engine and customer-concentration risk. Microsoft’s large AI backlog also does not guarantee equivalent future profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Spending, margins and valuation remain concerns. Rising data-center capital expenditures and lower cloud gross margins could pressure cash flow if AI infrastructure costs grow faster than revenue. After the sharp post-earnings rally, the stock is also more vulnerable to profit-taking or disappointing guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales and securities litigation add headline risk. CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares for roughly $4.9 million, and multiple law firms are publicizing a securities class action with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. These developments do not establish wrongdoing but may weigh on near-term sentiment.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $499.99 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $404.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $406.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source