AR Asset Management Inc. Buys 8,699 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• AR Asset Management increased its Microsoft stake by 35.7% in the first quarter, buying 8,699 shares to own 33,098 shares valued at approximately $12.25 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue rose 17.7% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $558.87.
• Despite strong AI and Azure growth prospects, rising infrastructure costs, customer concentration and insider selling remain risks. Microsoft also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 0.7%.

AR Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 35.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,098 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 8,699 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.4% of AR Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. AR Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the third quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,453,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Better Money Decisions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the second quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,740,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Dbs Bank decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, China Renaissance lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $558.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of MSFT opened at $499.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $404.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $406.96. The stock has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. The company's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Microsoft News Summary

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 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).

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